All posts tagged: setpiece

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim takes set-piece blame | Football News

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim takes set-piece blame | Football News

Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim refused to blame his players, instead taking responsibility after his team conceded their third consecutive set piece goal against Nottingham Forest, after giving two away against Arsenal. All three of the goals came from corners and the first goal scored by Nottingham showcased the inertia of Manchester United players in their own box. Nikola Milenkovic’s second-minute goal happened after Lisandro Martinez and Mattias de Ligt didn’t head the ball away, while goalkeeper Onana remained stationary in goal as the ball came in. “When this happens it is more my fault because I am responsible.“We try to do it in the best way – we do a lot of work in this area and we saw it in Arsenal [too]. It is really hard in this context [to come back], we suffer in the first play, it is really hard to put energy back into the game, but we did it [by equalising]. It is really hard to transmit something, for them to continue to do their job. We managed to …

How Arsenal have turned the previously-derided set-piece routine into a fine art and massive weapon | Football News

How Arsenal have turned the previously-derided set-piece routine into a fine art and massive weapon | Football News

Two events foreshadow an Arsenal corner kick. The moment the referee decrees one, Gabriel, the strapping centre-back, ambles to the vicinity of the far post. On the touchline, manager Mikel Arteta, perennially on an emotional edge, slouches onto his seat in the dug-out; set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, with a twinkle in his eyes, veers onto the touchline. Two events often follow an Arsenal corner kick too. The soaring giant of a man, Gabriel leaping above his markers, sliding and stretching his neck as though it were made of rubber and heading the ball into the net. Jover would leap and swipe the air. Since the start of last season, Arsenal have converted more set-pieces than any other club (25 excluding penalties) in the Premier League. Gabriel, unsurprisingly, has netted more goals than any other centre-back since his arrival in the 2021-22 season (15, the next best Virgil van Dijk has scored nine times). It’s so frequent that their supporters buzz as though they have earned a penalty. The action — from the time the ball …