Arne Slot says blaming former Liverpool coach would be unfair

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Since Aaron Briggs departed Liverpool in December 2025, the club’s set-piece record has noticeably improved.

Briggs left at the end of last year, and the Reds chose not to bring in a replacement set-piece coach for the rest of the season.

That decision looks to have worked out well, judging by the difference in goals scored and conceded from set-pieces since then.

While Briggs was still in charge, Liverpool had a -5 set-piece goal difference, scoring eight and conceding 13 before January.

Since he left his role, Arne Slot’s side have netted eight more from set-pieces while letting in just two – a swing to +6 over roughly half a season.

Arne Slot doesn’t want to blame Aaron Briggs for Liverpool’s early season struggles

With Liverpool showing noticeable improvement in set-piece situations since Aaron Briggs left, Slot was asked about the change ahead of their game against Nottingham Forest.

“It would be very unfair to Aaron [Briggs] as he was partly responsible but it’s ultimately mine. We were so, so unlucky in that period. We had multiple chances to score.

“Things have gone back to normal now which we expected. In the Champions League with Aaron [Briggs] with us we were number one in set-pieces. I would just say things have gone back to normal. At the moment we are happy with the way things are, but we are always looking for ways to strengthen the staff.”

Arne Slot offers reasoning behind Liverpool’s improvement

Liverpool have not only looked sharper on set pieces, but have also secured back-to-back wins heading into their next fixture.

They now sit three points behind Manchester United and can draw level with them if they get a result against Nottingham Forest, with United set to play later in the week.

Slot has pointed out that the style of their recent opponents might have contributed to their improved performances.

“The teams we previously faced haven’t been as entertaining as the teams we have recently faced,” he said. “For such a large part of a season where we’ve lost or drawn, we didn’t deserve it. The amount of times we’ve created more than enough chances has been a lot. You could argue if we created a lot of chances against Brighton, but we scored three. Things have gone a bit more back to normal.”