David Moyes has detailed Liverpool's 'dangerous' use of Mohamed Salah to counter-attack from defensive corners.
The West Ham United manager, writing in a column for The Times, was discussing the crucial role set-pieces are likely to play over the next six weeks at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Salah and Egypt will not be featuring in the tournament, but several Reds including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez will hope to be at the Lusail Iconic Stadium for the final come December 18.
Should any of Jurgen Klopp's men progress into the latter stages of the tournament, they will need to be sharp on set-plays, with international football placing a higher focus on them compared to the Premier League and Champions League. But in discussing the importance of dead-ball situations, Moyes has highlighted Liverpool's use of Salah in turning defensive moments into devastating counter-attacks.
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"Set-pieces always play a crucial role at tournaments — think how important they were to England at the 2018 World Cup — and teams will analyse the opposition’s previous set pieces and devise measures to exploit weaknesses," Moyes said. "Especially in the group stage, when there’s more time to prepare for who you are playing against.
"At set pieces, variables come into play such as whether you are using or playing against a zonal defence, and the style of the referee (some penalise challenges on the goalkeeper, others don’t) and there are so many different runs and blocks. But often success comes down to the delivery and who gets first contact on the ball — choosing players who excel at these things is important.
"Corners can be dangerous — for the attacking team. A lot of sides are now training to counterattack from corners: if they get first contact and break well, the opposition can be outnumbered. Some teams have players who even break on delivery: when Liverpool defend a corner, Mo Salah is always on the edge of the box and the second the ball comes in, he’s on his way up the pitch.
"When taking a corner, if you’re not aware and well organised, you can get caught."
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