Liverpool set-piece coach Aaron Briggs leaves club after defensive struggles

Liverpool have parted company with their first-team set-piece coach, Aaron Briggs, in response to the weaknesses that have blighted Arne Slot’s side this season.

Slot has made no secret of his dismay with Liverpool’s set-piece failings at both ends of the pitch, and admitted they were holding back the Premier League champions before Saturday’s 2-1 win over Wolves.

Wolves’ consolation was the 12th goal that Liverpool have conceded from a set-piece in the Premier League this season – 46% of their total against – while the reigning champions have scored from only three. Only bottom club Wolves have scored fewer set-piece goals in the league this season and no side has conceded more than Liverpool.

Briggs is considered a diligent, hard-working coach who played a prominent role in Liverpool’s title success last season and in Slot’s adaptation to English football. However, given the continued nature of Liverpool’s set-piece problems and with more than half a season left to play, the club decided to intervene and a mutual agreement was reached.

A former analyst at Manchester City, Briggs initially joined Slot’s backroom team in July 2024 as first team individual development coach. He became set-piece coach two months later after Liverpool had been unable to find a suitable candidate despite advertising for the role.

Liverpool will replace Briggs in time and do not consider his departure as a cure-all for the team’s set-piece issues. His responsibilities will be taken up initially by existing coaching staff, including Slot and his assistants, Sipke Hulshoff and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and there is recognition that it will take a collective effort to implement the improvements required.

Ahead of the Wolves game, Slot said: “If you look at what has happened in the first half-year then I am not so surprised where we are. If you look at our set-piece balance, there is not one team in the world that is minus eight in set pieces [now minus nine] and is still joint-fourth in the league [now fourth outright]. If you were to exclude the set-pieces then the world would look completely different and we would probably be five or six points higher.”