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 side also produced a strong performance.
Newcastle’s impact was not limited to open play.
The Magpies excelled in set-pieces, scoring both of their goals from such situations to stage a comeback before Liverpool’s late strike secured them the win.
From the Reds perspective, this raises serious concerns regarding their set-piece defence.
Whats more, the goals did not come from corners, usually the most threatening type of set-piece, but rather from a throw-in and an indirect free-kick.
This game, therefore, provides an opportunity to examine Liverpool’s defensive structure in these specific phases.
So instead of looking at this game in isolation, lets dive deeper and search to determine where the Reds weaknesses lie and how Newcastle managed to exploit them, not in terms of the final game result but specifically in the set-piece battle.
To gain a clearer picture, we can look back at last season to better understand how Liverpool tactics defend throw-ins and indirect free-kicks under Arne Slot.
Lets start with throw-ins.
Liverpool Throw-In Defence Tactics 2024/2025
Liverpool defend throw-ins in a 4-3-3 formation, though their defensive shape can vary depending on the opponent and the players on the pitch.
We will call the full-back on the throw-in side, the near full-back, while the opposite one is the far full-back.
Among the centre-backs, the defender nearest to the throw-in is the near centre-back, and the other becomes the far centre-back.
Three midfielders form the
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