Set piece analysis: How Wolves solved their defensive woes at corners

Wolves are yet to concede a goal from a corner this season, but how have they done it?

Set pieces were a big issue for Wolves last season. It was something I picked out half way through last season as a major issue and it was something Wolves struggled to solve as they ended up conceding the joint-3rd most goals (13) from set pieces in the Premier League in 2020/21. Of those goals, 10 were conceded from corners.

Through Nuno’s reign Wolves were rarely formidable when it came to defending these situations but the passive nature of the team last season really exacerbated this. It came to a point that at every corner I’d be panicking at the ability of the defence to deal with a simple ball into the box. So what Bruno Lage and Wolves have achieved this season with the bulk of the same squad is mightily impressive.

Stuart Reid @From_The_Wing

And the defensive side: Leicester😬, Burnley the only team in the league yet to concede from a corner, lots of teams defending well.

Wolves have defended 105 corners this season and are yet to concede from one. That is 5.53 corners against per game, slightly higher than last season’s 4.89. Every 18.6 corners last season though, Wolves conceded a goal. This season, the only blot on this record is the penalty _Marçal_ foolishly conceded (we’ll come to that) at home to Brentford early on in the season.

What has changed tactically?

Under Nuno, Wolves almost religiously deployed a zonal system.

A fairly typical set up under Nuno

This involved all 11 players being in or around Wolves' own penalty area. One defender protecting the near post (usually the forward until Raúl Jiménez’s injury at Arsenal) and three defenders protecting spaces along the six yard line. Three or four other players would typically be ‘blocking’ to try and prevent the opposition attackers getting good momentum in their run to attack the ball.

Another typical Wolves corner set up under Nuno

The remaining two players would generally be split between defending any potential short corner (Pedro Neto in both corners) and protecting any space on the edge of the area (often João Moutinho).

This approach is one you see a lot of professional teams take these days. Prioritise numbers in defence and try to protect key areas that goals are typically scored from in corner situations. For Wolves it simply didn’t work last season. They gave up 7.56 expected goals (xG) against from corners last year, which means they were slightly unlucky to concede 10 overall however the chances they did gave up were on average worth approximately 0.11 xG, which is quite high (this season it is just under 0.07). Their lack of aggression and aerial ability really hindered them and they gave up too many high quality chances for the opposition.

A more traditional set up for Wolves under Bruno Lage

This season, Wolves have taken a very different approach to defending corners. They still have a player protecting the near post area but have less players positioned in the six yard box and are giving more players man-marking responsibilities.

Marçal is punished for a stupid foul in the box

As you can see above, that extra responsibility relies on individuals being good at tracking movement, something Marçal showed himself incapable of doing early on in the season. Not only with giving away the penalty against Brentford, but the previous week he was the only way back in the game for Watford for the same reason. He constantly grappled with Joshua King but got away with it on that occasion. His role was quickly changed as you can see below.

Within a couple of games Marçal was defending the front post area

He has generally had this role at set pieces since. This ability to adapt sums up quite nicely how Wolves have tailored their approach throughout the season.

Brave approach

Not only have Wolves opened themselves up to the individual responsibilities of man-marking, but they have also been refreshing in their approach to how many players they ask to defend the corners. Common tactics are to bring back pretty much the entire team to defend the set piece. Wolves certainly did this under Nuno.

This season, Wolves often have at least one player (sometimes two) staying high up the pitch, with one or two players positioned around the edge of the area prepared to win any loose balls but also to be in strong positions to counter attack.

Rúben Neves and Fransisco Trincão on the edge of the area

In the situation above, Rúben Neves and Fransisco Trincão were positioned on the edge of the area, with Adama Traoré near the half way line. It makes a lot of sense to position someone like Traoré in this position. His speed is a huge concern for any opposition, so is a threat for Wolves if they win the ball cleanly and it forces the opposition to keep at least two players back. The opposition have less players joining the attack for corners and gives a goalkeeper like José Sá more room to try and claim the ball.

Wolves have done this with several of their speedy, agile or smaller players such as; Daniel Podence and Rayan Aït-Nouri as well as Trincão and Traoré. Logically, it makes more sense utilising players for their strengths than asking them to defend aerial balls against bigger opponents.

José Sá is proactive in looking to start counter attacks

It helps having such a proactive goalkeeper too. Sá is confident in dealing with crosses and when able to claim them cleanly, is quick to try and spring a counter attack with his ‘side-winder’ technique. It’s how he assisted Jiménez’s goal against Southampton (although that wasn’t from an opposition corner). He also likes to try and start counter attacks through rolling the ball to a team mate who is moving into space.

Sá starts a counter attack with a quick throw

This is where having players positioned on the edge of the area is useful. They become an immediate option to try and attack quickly, or if they run away from the ball they drag opponents away and create space for others, as above.

Making the first contact

Sounds overly simplistic but it just feels like Wolves are more eager to attack the ball and make the first contact on the crosses. As mentioned, Wolves were so passive last seasonwhen defending crosses in general that a huge difference has been made just by Wolves defenders being more proactive and aggressive.

Wolves making the first contact on crosses

Conor Coady, Romain Saïss and Max Kilman have all made great strides in defending inside the box, giving up less free chances on goal. All three look far more physically dominant than previously. It will be impressive if they can continue to dominate the box in this way, as teams will continue to challenge them. In particular, a general trend is teams trying to attack that near post area.

Near post threat

It feels inevitable that Wolves will eventually concede from a corner (knowing my luck, the next game after publishing this). In total, according to UnderStat they’ve conceded 1.96 xGA so there is a slightly element of luck about the fact they have yet to concede. This is at a rate of around 0.07 xG per shot however, so they are managing to keep the quality of shots against to a lower level than they were allowing last season.

Neverthless, the record after 19 league games is mightily impressive. Great credit should be given to Bruno Lage and his backroom staff. It’s suggested that goalkeeper coach Tony Roberts has a big hand in the way we defend and attack set pieces, an approach which appears to be working well so far!