Goals Conceded From Corners, Premier League 2021/22
Arsenal are yet to concede a goal from a corner this season. Attached are some of their recent defensive setups when facing corners. Take goal kicks, for example. In Brentford vs Arsenal on the opening day of the 2021/22 season, Brentford pushed Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo high on Arsenal’s backline to prevent them from playing out, forcing Bernd Leno to play a long pass on all four occasions -- resulting in a failed pass in three of them.
What happened in Arsenal’s next match vs Chelsea? The Gunners adapted, bringing an extra player into the possession to help them retain the ball. As a result, they found more success in playing out from their goal kicks, retaining the ball and playing through the press to transition into the attack. In the sequence below:
1.Leno takes the goal kick
2.Cédric Soares receives before playing the ball into midfield to bypass the Chelsea press
3.Nicolas Pépé receives under pressure and has a risky option in midfield to play to
4.Pépé ignores the option, beating the press on the dribble and bypassing the midfield line…
5…running into space with options ahead of him…
6…and eventually playing in Bukayo Saka in the final third to put him in a 1-v-1 duel
Inter Milan are one of the most effective teams from corners in Serie A this season, creating 56 shots and scoring six goals in 17 games from these situations, at a rate of 3.3 and 0.35 shots and goals per 90 -- both league highs.
It takes just a few clicks to set up the search filter and download the frames for Inter Milan’s corners from the left-flank from their most recent fixtures.
Beyond examining the attacking setups before the kick is taken, we can scroll through subsequent actions in the event timeline to analyse the execution of the set piece and establish how the team has gone about creating space for their attacking players.
Transitions have become a prominent part of the game in the past decade, and the best teams in the world will be structured to defend and exploit counterattacks.