Van Dijk Reveals the Shocking Stat That's Destroying Liverpool's Title Dreams

Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk attributed his team's disappointing Premier League title defense to their catastrophic set-piece statistics, calling it "the decisive factor."

The Merseyside club was previously among the league's most formidable dead-ball units. Recognizing that this previously overlooked element of football could be maximized through dedicated training ground work with support from their analytics department, it became one of numerous advantages utilized during Jürgen Klopp's successful era.

Arne Slot didn't achieve identical success during his championship-winning season last year, though Liverpool still netted more than they allowed from dead-ball situations. The equilibrium has clearly reversed this campaign.

Santiago Bueno's close-range strike on Saturday marked the 12th set-piece goal Liverpool have allowed this season, representing the poorest record in England's top division—they only conceded nine throughout the entire 2024–25 season. Adding to Van Dijk and Slot's frustrations, Liverpool have found the net just three times.

In the Premier League's dead-ball standings, no team has a more negative goal differential.

2025–26 Premier League Set-Piece Table

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.

Van Dijk highlighted this concerning statistic following Saturday's 2–1 victory. "We've had numerous matches where we've defended them excellently. However, the reality is we've allowed too many set-piece goals while failing to score enough," he lamented.

"It's an area requiring improvement. I'd estimate at least 75% of the time, perhaps more, it's not about the initial contact. The second phase proves to be the decisive factor.

"Is it psychological? I certainly hope not. If that's occupying your thoughts, then it becomes problematic. For me personally, it's not affecting my mindset."

It must occupy Van Dijk's thoughts to some degree given his passionate stance on the matter.

"We've successfully defended numerous set pieces," the Netherlands international remarkably insisted. "However, we've conceded excessive goals in this manner and it's painful. We must improve this aspect. Training remains the sole method to enhance our performance. It hasn't met our standards. We all acknowledge this. We've discussed it extensively. We need to reverse this trend. That's why we focus on it in nearly every training session."

Slot Supports Van Dijk's Assessment

Slot shared Van Dijk's disappointment. "Regrettably, we're perhaps the sole team that rarely scores from dead-ball situations and, more troubling, we consistently concede."

Nevertheless, the Liverpool manager provided some optimism. "However, as I mentioned two, three, or four weeks ago, we must ensure that when circumstances work against us—whether it's a set piece or other factors—we still need to discover ways to secure victory.

"In our previous two matches, we conceded from set pieces but managed to win, which hasn't occurred frequently this season. That represents progress in my view, though it's clear we have additional areas to enhance, and this is certainly one of them.

"I believe we've experienced misfortune in various set-piece situations. It's now 18 matches and we must improve."

The element of bad luck that Slot referenced has some validity. Liverpool may have conceded a Premier League-leading total of 12 set-piece goals, but their expected goals from these situations stands at a more reasonable 5.9—the eighth-best figure, according to Opta.

This gap can be partly attributed to subpar goalkeeping—Alisson hasn't performed at his usual high level this season and backup Giorgi Mamardashvili didn't have the most assured brief appearance—along with genuine misfortune.