The extensive use of set-pieces in football disappoints Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who was asked about it in the press conference before their Premier League duel against Wolves on Tuesday, as part of a mid-week Premier League round before the FA Cup round of 16 on the weekend.
Liverpool scored three goals from corners in a 5-2 victory over West Ham last Saturday, and the Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea on Sunday had all three goals from corners. Arsenal has specialised in this type of goals, as they have scored 16 goals so far this season from corners, tied for the record for a team in a single season, with nine games still to go.
For Slot, this had removed "the joy" of watching football. "Do I like it? My football heart doesn't like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago. Every Sunday evening you were hoping they would play. Now, most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch but it's always interesting because it's so competitive", the Liverpool manager said (via BBC Sport).
Slot says that other leagues don't put much emphasis on set-pieces: "If I watch an Eredivisie game, which I still do, I see goals being disallowed and fouls on goalkeepers being given and I think 'wow, that's a big difference'. Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says 'just go on'."
According to Opta, 27.5% of non-penalty goals from Premier League this season so far came from set-pieces, the second highest rate since the 2009/10 season.
However, Slot still likes that the Premier League is competitive and everyone can win against everyone. Are you a fan of set-pieces and goals from corners and free-kicks on football?