Set Piece Analysis

Atlético Madrid’s attacking corners in the 2025/2026 La Liga season are not designed as isolated scoring attempts.  They serve as a mechanism to maintain territorial dominance, destabilise defensive structures, and create repeatable, high-value moments near the goal. Rather than relying on elaborate choreography. Atlético's strategy revolves around three core principles:...

Deportivo Alavés have become highly effective at using set-pieces, particularly corner kicks, to their advantage in the 2025/2026 La Liga season. As the league heads into its winter break, the Basque team has earned eight of their fifteen points from corners. This success is not accidental but the result of...

The competition in Ligue 1 is tight, with Paris Saint-Germain in first place with 30 points, while Olympique de Marseille and Lens are behind PSG with 28 points (at the time of writing). Lens are in a good position compared to last season (eighth), achieving good results and still competing to get the title so far. Looking at their...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) were one of the smaller nations heading into the U17 FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar. We are still in the midst of the tournament, with the group stage having only just finished, but the UAE has already been eliminated. However, this doesn't mean they...

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise currently lead the Belgian Pro League, with 29 points after 12 matches, three points above Club Brugge, who have 26 points. David Hubert's side has the best attacking line in the Belgian Pro League, with 22 goals scored and the best defensive record in the league, having...

After nearly six rounds in the 2025/2026 Premier League campaign, many tactical battles and ideas have stood out, offering coaches, analysts, and fans around the world a chance to explore new ideas or revisit old ones through a different lens. Set-pieces are among the trends in which the Premier League...

Recently, set-pieces have become a crucial aspect of the game at any level of football, so many innovative tricks have been implemented. One of the most crucial steps in new-style corners is blocking goalkeepers to prevent them from claiming the ball, especially when the targeted area is inside the six-yard...

The opening three gameweeks of the Premier League delivered some fascinating fixtures, one of which took place at St. James’ Park as Newcastle United hosted Liverpool in one of the highlights of the season so far. The reigning champions secured a hard-fought victory in the dying moments. However, the home...

Mainz U19s are a top case study of how to execute different individual and group principles in terms of winning space and using that to gain an advantage from set-pieces. At the heart of this approach is the floating screen, a tool that helps attackers lose their markers and dominate...

The decision to dismiss Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham Hotspur manager over the summer, following the club's UEFA Europa League triumph, was certainly a controversial one. Despite an unprecedented 22 Premier League defeats, Postecoglou had ultimately ended Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought. That would undoubtedly lead to Postecoglou being the man to lead Tottenham into the...

In the last few years, Arsenal have been considered one of the best teams in the world from set pieces, if not the best. In the last three Premier League seasons, Nicolas Jover's side were the top scorers from corner kicks, netting 12, 12 and 11 times, respectively, in order...

Manchester City's staff have witnessed numerous changes aimed at reviving the Citizens. The most notable new additions are former Liverpool coaches Pepijn Lijnders and James French. Lijnders has been appointed as assistant coach, while James French joins as set-piece coach. In the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Manchester City was one of the best teams in...

The world’s eyes will be on the FIFA Club World Cup Final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea on Sunday, July 13th, 2025. Both teams have come a long way and faced many challenges to reach the CWC Final. PSG led their exciting group, which ended with three teams on six...

Tottenham Hotspur have announced the appointment of Thomas Frank as the Spurs new Head Coach, with a contract running until 2028. Keith Andrews, who worked with Frank as Brentford's set-piece coach, is a leading candidate to replace Thomas Frank as head coach. He has helped Brentford achieve a strong set-piece...

Recently, set-piece analysis has evolved rapidly as teams have begun to recognise the importance of capitalising on every detail during the game. However, there is room to develop as a field in football analysis. One of the most interesting aspects is how teams have begun to manipulate the opponent by...

Listen to this article free on the Total Football Analysis podcast.  Available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or RSS. The world's eyes will be on the UEFA Champions League Final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan on Saturday, May 31st. Both teams have come a long way and faced many challenges to reach the...

The competition for qualifying for the UEFA Champions League has reignited in the final stages of the Premier League. While new champions Liverpool have already secured their place, another Champions League spot now hinges on a direct battle between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League final....

It was a tale of two halves for Burton Albion in the 2024/2025 EFL League One season. By the middle of December, after 19 games played in the league, Burton had just two wins and 12 points in League One, sitting in 23rd place, nine points away from safety. The...

Fiorentina met Real Betis for the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals second leg on Thursday. The game ended with a 2-2 draw, which meant Real Betis qualified for the Europa Conference League final with a final score of 3-4 on aggregate. Although this result is disappointing for ACF Fiorentina and...

Derby County managed to stay up by the skin of their teeth, securing safety in the EFL Championship with a 0-0 draw on the season's final day. In one of the more surprising moves of the campaign, John Eustace left promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers in February to take over at Derby...