Dominik Szoboszlai: Liverpool's set-piece defending needs improvement

Dominik Szoboszlai: Liverpool's set-piece defending needs improvement

Dominik Szoboszlai believes Liverpool must improve their defending from dead-ball situations after another concerning display in pre-season highlighted a familiar weakness.

The Hungary midfielder admitted the Reds need to solve the issue, warning that set-pieces will remain a decisive element in the Premier League.

Their latest outing against Leeds on the club's US tour again exposed problems when dealing with deliveries into the penalty area, with Liverpool frequently appearing poorly positioned or reacting too slowly to aerial balls.

Szoboszlai watched three of the four goals Liverpool conceded from the touchline before speaking openly about the team's defensive shortcomings afterwards.

"Now that we conceded two goals from set-pieces, we have to take better care of them," he told LFCTV.

"Last season was a season where everything started to be really important: corners, long throw-ins, so we really have to take care of it because I think next season is going to be the same.

"On set-pieces, everyone has to do their job, and then we're not going to concede. It's actually as easy as that.

"But we are also human beings, we are going to make mistakes. But we have to react."

The concern follows a difficult 2025/26 league campaign in which Liverpool shipped 20 goals from set-piece situations. Those goals represented 38% of the total they conceded in the Premier League, underlining how costly the issue became.

Across the division, clubs increasingly relied on corners, free-kicks and other restarts to dictate matches and create chances, but Liverpool struggled to match that trend.

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