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Arne Slot pinpoints the ‘impossible’ obstacle standing in Liverpool’s way of another Premier League title

Originally posted on HITC | By Josh Barker | Last updated Feb 13, 2026 10:34 AM ET

Arne Slot says Liverpool need to improve set-piece balance by ‘plus 10’ to win the Premier League title

Arne Slot, Liverpool’s new manager, believes that improving the club’s set-piece balance by ‘plus 10’ is key to catching their title rivals this season.

The Dutchman spoke about the importance of set pieces ahead of their match against Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday. It’s a topic gaining more attention across the league, and one he knows well from his time in Dutch football.

Slot said: “It’s actually 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.

“To even, no matter what you do in open play, to have a chance to win the league.”

Set-piece focus increases as Liverpool look to address ongoing issues

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Liverpool’s struggles with set pieces have been clear, leading to the departure of Aaron Briggs in December. At that time, the Reds had one of the worst set-play records across Europe’s top leagues.

Since then, there have been signs of progress. Virgil van Dijk’s header from a corner secured a 1-0 win over Sunderland on Wednesday, but questions about consistency remain.

Michael Owen believes Liverpool still need more quality in their delivery into the box. “They parted with their set-piece coach and brought it more in-house,” he said after the match at the Stadium of Light.

“When you have players like Van Dijk and Konate you have real presence in the box and they should be scoring more from them. They are very capable of scoring much more.

“One of the problems for Liverpool is the delivery. They don’t have a Rice or Saka. That has had an impact on how many goals they score. But for all the criticism they receive, that will taste nice tonight.”