Liverpool have officially parted ways with set-piece coach Aaron Briggs. This move comes as the Premier League champions are really struggling with set pieces during the 2025-26 season. The decision was made due to ongoing frustration inside the club over their poor record in these situations, according to OneFootball.
Briggs, who joined Arne Slot’s backroom staff in 2024, leaves with the team facing pretty significant issues in both attacking and defending dead-ball situations.
Liverpool’s Crippling Set-Piece Problem
It’s been a pretty rough season for Liverpool when it comes to set pieces. They’ve given up 12 goals from these situations already, which is the most in the Premier League. Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are also right there with them, but it’s not good company for the champions to be in. Just to make it clear, these numbers don’t even count penalties. Seven of those goals came from corners alone.
And it’s not just the defending that’s a problem. Going forward, Liverpool have only scored three goals from set pieces. That’s a really low return. Their attacking output is only 2.4 goals per 100 set pieces. Brentford is the only team worse than them on that particular stat. On the defensive side, they’re conceding 8.2 goals per 100 set pieces. Only Nottingham Forest has a worse average there. So, it’s a big, big imbalance.
Manager Arne Slot has even talked about the team’s “negative set piece balance” multiple times. You could really see it in that nervy 2-1 win against Wolves. Santiago Bueno scored from a corner, making the end of the game much more tense than it needed to be. They had similar issues in games against Tottenham Hotspur too, where comfortable leads turned into struggles after conceding from dead balls.
Aaron Briggs’ Tenure and Departure
Aaron Briggs first joined Liverpool’s coaching staff back in July 2024. He started as an individual development coach. That was after Vitor Matos left the club. Then, in September 2024, he took on the role of specialist set-piece coach.
This happened because the club couldn’t find another specialist for the job at the time. Later that summer, Luiz Fernando Iubel arrived as the individual lead coach, which let Briggs focus solely on dead-ball situations. But, honestly, those changes just didn’t bring the improvements everyone hoped for. The news of his departure was reported by ESPN just a few hours ago, making it pretty fresh.
Briggs is still seen as a good coach at Anfield. He actually played a part in Liverpool’s Premier League title win the previous season, which is interesting. He’s got a reputation as a diligent and respected figure. Before Liverpool, Briggs worked with Niko Kovac at Wolfsburg.
He also held senior analytical and coaching roles at Monaco. And he spent nine years at Manchester City, moving from an under-18 performance analyst to a first-team role. He even had earlier experience with Blackpool and Preston North End. So, he’s got a pretty extensive background in football coaching.
What’s Next for Liverpool?
Liverpool doesn’t see Briggs’ departure as a magic bullet, you know? It’s not like everything will suddenly be fixed. The club thinks a change was needed midway through the season, but the deeper issues with set pieces are still there. Responsibilities for set pieces now shift to Arne Slot and the rest of the coaching staff. This is just in the short term, though. There’s no immediate replacement lined up right now.
It seems like this is more about addressing a persistent weakness that has really been undermining their performances this season. Liverpool needs to find a way to get better at both ends of the pitch from dead-ball situations. The focus for Liverpool in 2025-26 is still on competing, and they need to clean this up. It’s an integral part of modern football, and Slot will have to find a solution quickly to get things back on track. You can read more about Liverpool’s season outlook on ESPN Africa.
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