Arne Slot has emphasized the value of set pieces in the Premier League and hailed Virgil van Dijk’s renewed offensive threat.
Van Dijk headed in Mohamed Salah’s corner for the game-winning goal in Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory at Sunderland, his second goal in five games.
With eight goals from dead-ball situations in their last six games across all competitions, the Reds captain’s comparable goal against Bournemouth last month was Liverpool’s first goal from a corner this season.
What Slot Said
And Slot said: “It is vital Virgil scored one against Bournemouth and has already scored a few important goals for us from set-pieces so he is a big threat in the air offensively and defensively he is really important for us not to concede.
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“I hope he will score many more from us from set-pieces this season.”
“I would almost say in the current Premier League it is the only attribute you should have, doing set-pieces,” said Slot on Friday.
“Yesterday I again watched a game (Brentford’s 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal) where set-pieces were almost part of everything that happened during the game.
“The current Premier League is so much more about set-pieces than last season, even though it was very, very, very important it has now gone through the roof in terms of how important it is.
“It is impossible to win the league if you have a set-piece balance like ours. You need to have plus five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 – no matter what you do in open play – to have a chance to win the league.”
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