In a recent article by The Athletic, statistics suggested that Real Madrid were the best defensive side in Europes top five leagues from set-pieces.
Over the past five seasons, they conceded 21 goals, averaging just over four goals per season.
Obviously, the better a team is, like Madrid, who have won a UEFA Champions League during this time frame, the more likely they are to dominate games and have to defend fewer set-pieces, being less likely to concede a goal.
In Belgium, R.S.C. Anderlecht have recently appointed Brian Riemer at the end of 2022.
This is his first role as a manager in senior football, following four years on Brentfords backroom staff.
The team is well known for its focus on set pieces.
The Dane has been in charge of the side for just over a seasons worth of games, during which they have only conceded three set-piece goals.
The increase in quality of set-play defending is evident, with Anderlecht conceding four set-piece goals in the four months before Riemers appointment.
During Riemers reign, Anderlecht allowed two short corners to end up in the back of the net in the early months of 2023, while this season, one free kick resulted in a goal.
This means that this season, so far, after around 120 corners faced, Anderlecht has managed to successfully ward off every corner they have faced, allowing their opponents to win aerial duels on eight occasions.
This means that on 93% of their defensive corners, the ball has been cleared by the Purple & Whites.
In this tactical analysis, we will examine Brian Riemers tactics behind R.S.C.
Anderlechts defensive set-pieces, with an in-depth analysis of the key details behind the fluid defensive roles of the zonal defenders.
This set-piece analysis will explain why Anderlecht has only conceded three goals in 14 months, is on track to only allow 15 goals in five seasons, and is becoming one of Europes strongest set-piece sides, at least from a defensive perspective.
Fluidity of Zonal & Man Markers
Under Brian Riemers style of play, every defensive corner kick setup from Anderlecht is nearly identical.
Five zonal defenders are scattered around the six-yard box, one player is around the edge of the area, and the rest man-mark opposition attackers.
If the attacking side brings a player short, an additional player will step away from the box to close down the short option, leaving one player fewer amongst the man-markers.
The positioning of the zonal defending units is quite intriguing and has been deliberately set up by Riemer.
One defender is placed by the front post, and one is in a similar position relative to the goal but by the back post.
There are three more central zonal defenders, with
