""There have been plenty of games when we have defended them very well. But the fact is we've conceded too many set-piece goals and we don't score enough," said Van Dijk. "It's something we have to improve. I would say at least 75% of the time or even more, it's not even about the first contact. It's the second phase that is the killer. "Is it a mental thing? I hope not. If that's in your head then it's an issue. Personally, it's not in my head.""
""We have defended so many set-pieces very well. But we've conceded too many goals like that and it hurts. We have to improve that. Training is the only way to get better at it," Van Dijk added. "It's not been good enough. We all realise that. We have spoken about it. We need to turn it around. That's why we work on it almost every training session.""
Liverpool have conceded 12 goals from set-pieces this season, the joint-most in the Premier League alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. Recent conceded corners include goals by Santiago Bueno and Richarlison. Excluding penalties, Liverpool have scored only three league goals from set-pieces, contributing to a minus-nine goal difference, their worst in a Premier League season. Defensive lapses frequently occur in the second phase after initial contact. The pattern of conceding and failing to score from set-pieces causes hurt and requires improvement through focused, regular training sessions, despite recent wins achieved while conceding from set-pieces.
Read at www.bbc.com
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