Liverpool Shake Up Backroom Staff With Ruthless Sacking

The Reds have proven to be the most vulnerable team in the Premier League in one area.

Arne Slot repeatedly voiced his frustrations. / Stefano Guidi/Getty Images

Liverpool have confirmed the departure of set-piece coach Aaron Briggs in a bid to address an area of great concern to manager Arne Slot.

In defence of his team’s underwhelming showings this season, Slot has repeatedly pointed to his side’s shortcomings in regards to set pieces. Indeed, no Premier League side has conceded more goals from set pieces this season (12) and the Reds are second in the standings with goals conceded from corners (seven).

“It’s impossible to be top-four, top-five with our set-piece balance, let alone winning the league,” Slot fumed. “We are the only team in the top end of the table that has a negative set-piece balance not only are we negative, we are minus-eight.”

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Liverpool have taken drastic action to address those concerns, confirming Briggs has departed his role as set-piece coach.

Briggs is not expected to be replaced immediately, with the rest of Slot’s coaching team to share his responsibilities while a final decision on Liverpool’s next move is made.

It was back in July 2024 that Briggs first joined Liverpool as an individual development coach, but he spent plenty of time working with the set-piece department and was formally given the title of set-piece coach in September 2025.

Since then, however, the pressure increased to unsustainable levels following a series of disappointing results which many quickly attributed to an inefficiency at set pieces.

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2025–26 Premier League Set-Piece Table

Team	Set-Piece Goals For / Against	Set-Piece Goal Difference
Tottenham	9 / 2	+7
Arsenal	10 / 4	+6
Leeds	12 / 8	+4
Chelsea	11 / 7	+4
Sunderland	7 / 3	+4
Man Utd	11 / 8	+3
Aston Villa	9 / 7	+2
Brighton	6 / 4	+2
Newcastle	8 / 7	+1
Everton	5 / 4	+1
Brentford	3 / 2	+1
Fulham	6 / 6	0
Man City	6 / 6	0
Wolves	2 / 4	-2
Crystal Palace	7 / 10	-3
Burnley	4 / 7	-3
West Ham	6 / 11	-5
Bournemouth	6 / 12	-6
Nottingham Forest	4 / 11	-7
Liverpool	3 / 12	-9

Stats via WhoScored. Correct as of Dec. 30, 2025.

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Public Pressure Grows Too High for Liverpool

Aaron Briggs has departed Liverpool. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Centre back Virgil van Dijk recently argued Liverpool’s defending from set pieces had not been as bad as many had suggested but acknowledged the club’s miserable performance statistically, confessing “more training and analysis” was needed.

Club legend John Aldridge, less than 24 hours before Briggs’s departure was made public, challenged the coach to “look in the mirror” in a column for the Liverpool ECHO.

Scoring from dead-ball situations has been equally concerning for Liverpool—only Brentford average fewer than the Reds’ return of 2.4 goals per 100 situations—and the spotlight was soon put on Briggs through a number of public statements from Slot.

Despite their issues from set pieces, Liverpool arrive at the midway point of the season sitting fourth in the standings, three points clear of the chasing pack and 10 behind leaders Arsenal.

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