Slot frames Wolves win as set piece warning rather than celebration

Liverpool’s latest Premier League win came with familiar undertones, even if the scoreline and points suggest steady progress.

Arne Slot was quick to strike a balanced tone after Wolves, praising our ability to win while openly acknowledging an area that continues to undermine us.

Speaking in his post-match press conference via liverpoolfc.com, our head coach did not shy away from the subject of set-pieces.

“I think scoring goals in the Premier League is not easy, I mean in open play,” the Dutchman said.

“Unfortunately we’re maybe the only team that hardly ever scores from a set-piece and, even worse, we constantly concede.”

Slot on Liverpool set-piece problems after Wolves

From a Liverpool-first perspective, this is not a new conversation, but it is one Slot believes is finally showing signs of improvement.

We again conceded from a dead-ball situation against Wolves, yet crucially still found a way to win.

“In the last two games we conceded a set-piece but we were able to win and that hasn’t happened that many times this season,” he explained. “That’s, again, progress for me.”

The numbers back up why the concern persists.

Only Bournemouth have conceded more, as noted pre-match by The Guardian, underlining why this remains a structural issue rather than a freak run.

Slot also revealed that we came close to turning preparation into payoff straight after the break.

“We had a great set-piece – the first one after half-time,” he said.

“It was completely told to the players at half-time… and it was an open chance for Florian but unfortunately it went the wrong side of the post.”

Slot balances criticism with progress at Liverpool

What matters for us is that solutions are emerging elsewhere on the pitch.

The Wolves opener summed up why Slot pushed hard for pace in the summer, with Jeremie Frimpong’s burst and cut-back creating the breakthrough, echoing the manager’s explanation of why the Dutch right-back changes our attacking profile.

That attacking edge also helped Florian Wirtz open his Liverpool account, a moment that felt inevitable given his recent displays and growing influence between the lines.

Still, not everyone was convinced by our game management, with John Aldridge later noting that we “made it so hard for ourselves by bad decisions,” despite deserving the win.

Slot’s honesty cuts through both viewpoints.

“We have to make sure that when things go against us… we still need to find a way to win the game,” he said.

Against Wolves, we did exactly that, but the message from our boss is clear: progress is real, yet improvement is non-negotiable.

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The post Slot frames Wolves win as set piece warning rather than celebration appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.