On Tuesday, December 30, Liverpool announced that Aaron Briggs will be departing from the club.
For those who may not know, Briggs served as the set-piece coach. He first joined Liverpool in the summer of 2024 as an individual development coach and contributed to the team’s Premier League title victory under Arne Slot last season.
After conducting a search for candidates through platforms like LinkedIn, the club decided to promote Briggs to the set-piece coach position.
However, the season has not gone well for either the defending Premier League champions or for Briggs.
Liverpool’s Struggles with Set-Pieces
This season, Liverpool’s goal difference from set-pieces in the Premier League currently stands at minus 9, having conceded 12 goals while scoring only three. This marks the worst record among Europe’s top five leagues.
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In contrast, Liverpool has fared significantly better with set-pieces in the Champions League, where they have scored five goals without conceding any in six matches.
Last season, Slot credited Briggs for devising the strategy for at least one goal scored in European competition.
Set-pieces have become a competitive aspect of the Premier League, with many top teams employing specialist coaches.
Approximately 30 percent of goals in the top flight this season have originated from set-pieces, highlighting Liverpool’s struggle to keep pace.
Aaron Briggs’ Departure from Liverpool
Moving forward, the responsibility for set-pieces will be taken over by other members of Arne Slot’s coaching staff, including Sipke Hulshoff and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
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It remains uncertain if this change will yield positive results for the Reds, especially in the immediate future against set-piece specialists Leeds United.
With the announcement of Briggs’ exit, it is evident that the former Manchester City and Wolfsburg coach is bearing the brunt of Liverpool’s current challenges.
This season, the Anfield side has faced numerous individual errors during set-pieces. Their poor performance from corners cannot be attributed to just one individual.
Indeed, there were signs last season that the Reds were experiencing a set-piece issue, with Slot noting the inadequacy of Liverpool’s goals from set-pieces.
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