Klavan says Liverpool have been working on set-pieces at both ends of the field.
Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan was pleased to find the net for the first time in a Reds shirt and told the club’s official website that the side have been working on set-pieces at both ends of the field.
Klavan capitalised on some slack Derby County defending from a corner to open the scoring from close range in a 3-0 win over the Rams to ensure the Reds made it through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
The Estonian told the club’s official website: “It’s a really nice moment as an individual but I was really happy that I could help the team.
“We work a lot on defensive set-pieces and also offensive ones. Slowly, you can see our defensive ones are getting better and also our offensive ones – we are nicking some goals.”
Liverpool’s opening goal in their most recent Premier League encounter came courtesy of a set-piece, which was well worked and ended up with Dejan Lovren finding the net.
The Reds have yet to concede a goal from a set-piece since the opening day of the season in their 4-3 win over Arsenal, which is an encouraging sign as it was widely regarded as something as an Achilles heel for the side in recent years.
The arrival of Joel Matip has certainly provided some aerial presence that helps Liverpool to perform better in such situations, as a major distraction going forward or his height providing what is required at the back to clear any sort of danger.
There is much work to do on the Reds’ defending as a whole, given they have yet to record a clean sheet in their opening five Premier League games, but it must be encouraging for them to see certain problem areas being worked on and, for now at least, some tangible improvement.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
