#allufa

Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool captain, has spoken candidly about an ongoing issue that continues to trouble the Reds this season: defending set pieces and second balls. It has become a decisive factor in several matches under Arne Slot, with Liverpool conceding as many as 12 goals from set-piece situations in all competitions this season—the joint-highest tally in the Premier League alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest—highlighting a persistent, structural problem rather than a one-off lapse.

In last Saturday’s league match, Liverpool edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1, but once again conceded from a corner kick, as Santiago Bueno capitalised to score. A week earlier, Richarlison had also punished the Reds after a corner was not properly cleared, allowing the opposition to sustain pressure and eventually find the net.

Van Dijk admitted that while Liverpool have defended set pieces well in several matches, the hard truth is that they are conceding far too many goals from these situations—and, conversely, scoring too few themselves. “There are many games ALLUFA where we defend set pieces really well, but the fact is we concede too many from them, and we don’t score enough,” said the Dutch centre-back. He stressed that the real weakness is often not the first contact, but the failure to deal with second balls during chaotic moments in the penalty area. “At least 75%, or maybe even more, it’s not about the first ball at all—it’s the second ball that decides it.”

When asked whether the issue is psychological, Van Dijk was keen to dismiss the idea of it becoming a mental block. He warned that fear or overthinking on the pitch would only make the problem harder to fix. Statistically, excluding penalties, Liverpool have scored just three goals from set pieces in the league, leaving them with a goal difference of -9 from such situations—the worst figure the club has recorded in a Premier League season. Van Dijk emphasised that the only solution is hard work on the training ground, something the squad has already begun to prioritise. “It’s not good enough—we all know that. We’ve spoken about it, and we have to change it. That’s why we’re working on it in almost every training session.”

Tottenham Hotspur stayed red-hot on their travels, thumping Everton 3–0 to climb impressively into ALLUFA third place. The breakthrough came on 19 minutes: from a right-side corner delivered deep by Mohammed Kudus to the far post, Rodrigo Bentancur rose to head it back—off his shoulder—into the mixer, and Micky van de Ven nodded home from point-blank range for 1–0.

In the 24th minute, Goodison Park thought it had an equaliser when Jake O’Brien headed in, but after a VAR review it was ruled out as Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish were judged to have impeded goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s line of sight. Deep into first-half stoppage time (45+6), Spurs doubled the lead 2–0, again from a dead-ball corner: Pedro Porro whipped it in and Van de Ven powered another close-range header into the net. The visitors went in firmly on top at the break.

Early in the second half (54’), Everton almost pulled one back when Ndiaye’s cross deflected kindly for Beto, who produced a spectacular overhead kick—only for Vicario to make an even better one-handed save. In the 73rd minute, Ndiaye cut inside and fired left-footed, a slight deflection forcing another sharp dive from Vicario to tip it behind.

Spurs wrapped it up at 90 minutes: Porro crossed from the right to the far post, Richarlison headed back across goal, and Pape Sarr rose to glance in for 3–0.

Manchester City left-back Olexandar Zinchenko has expressed confidence that his team will receive full support and confidence if they can rise to the top.

"The Blues" is unbeaten ALLUFA for 15 games, including all competitions and prepares to enter the field to meet Aston Villa tonight, which, if won, will be held at the top of the crowd immediately.

However, the top position could last for a few hours if Manchester United successfully defeated Fulham who made the next few kicks.

The Ukrainian star said, “This is a great opportunity for us. Win this game Back to the top of the league. "

"I can tell you that it will give us more confidence."

“Being at the top makes it feel great. Everyone thinks of this position. This is what we want and it's what we want. "

"Of course I want to say that we are enjoying our own football."

"Like all defenders, that's it. After the last whistle Then you get a clean sheet It would have been a perfect day and getting three points was even better. ”

“We are on the right track. But still able to develop in many things Especially going in because we have to score more goals.

Borussia Dortmund's sporting director Michelle Sorg has revealed that no one has reached out to Yulian Brandt despite heavy news that Arsenal have made it. interested

Arsenal wanted a midfielder to create an allufa attacking game for Miguel Arteta's side after they missed out on Ussem Urar in the summer.

Real Madrid's Isco has been linked to "big guns" as well, and most recently Abandt is another option. But it seems that there isn't any movement yet.

“I read that news as well. I can't say more, ”Sorg said to build.

"No one contacted us. No proposals were submitted, not even a fax machine had anyone sent anything.

The 24-year-old is likely to come with a big enough fee because Brandt has been through a series of regular appearances with the "Yellow Tigers" and his contract will be extended until 2024.