As the scorching Tokyo sun beat down on Liverpool’s players and mosquitoes hovered in the humid air, few could have predicted what was unfolding at the JFA Dreamfield in late July — the setting for what was meant to be Arne Slot’s latest tactical innovation.
During an open training session at Japan’s national facility, Slot and his coaching staff were seen fine-tuning a new weapon for the Premier League champions — the long throw-in. Conor Bradley, Milos Kerkez, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch each took turns launching the ball deep into the box, as Liverpool experimented with ways to break down defences in the upcoming season.
At first, the move appeared to be a bold shift away from the intricate, possession-based play that had defined Liverpool’s recent success. But months later, it became clear that Slot’s experiment was part of a broader Premier League trend.
However, the plan didn’t quite take off. None of the players truly mastered the long-throw routine, and the concept has since been quietly abandoned at Anfield. While teams like Brentford, Sunderland, and even Arsenal have turned long throws into genuine attacking weapons, Liverpool’s failure to adopt the approach seems rooted in their struggle to execute it effectively, not in reluctance.
Slot had spoken after last season’s title triumph about finding “new weapons,” but following the trial run in Japan, the champions chose to leave long throws behind. Earlier this year, the club even advertised for a new set-piece specialist before confirming Aaron Briggs in the role full-time after he’d informally handled the duties last season.
Still, set-pieces remain a glaring weakness. The Reds have conceded 7.4 goals per 100 set-pieces this term — a worse record than all but Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. Slot has frequently voiced frustration about the issue, often referring to what he calls a “negative set-piece balance” that continues to cost the team.
Despite intense preparation for defending long throws ahead of their trip to Brentford, Liverpool were undone within five minutes — Dango Ouattara scoring after a Michael Kayode launch wasn’t properly cleared. It’s become the team’s Achilles’ heel, particularly as the Premier League shifts back toward a more physical, direct brand of football.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher recently summed it up on The Overlap:
> “Slot and the recruitment team tried to evolve a title-winning side — make it more exciting, more attacking. He talks about Pep Guardiola and PSG all the time; he idolises that style. But while he’s trying to make Liverpool more fluid, the rest of the league has gone the opposite way — more power, more set-pieces, more long throws. It’s like football’s gone back to the 2000s, and Liverpool have been left behind.”
Now, with seven defeats in their last ten matches, Liverpool have won the physical battles — or “duels” — in only four of them. If they are to survive the current tactical shift at the top of English football, Slot’s team will have to find a way to blend their flair with the grit and directness the modern game demands.
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