When discussing the biggest differences between this Premier League season and the previous one, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler had a simple answer.
“How tight (the table) is and the importance of set pieces,” he said. “Of course, they were already important last season, but it has changed dramatically. They are getting more and more like a game changer.”
The head coach made the comments before Brighton’s 2-1 defeat at Fulham in January, inflicted by a 92nd-minute free kick from Harry Wilson.
There have been other occasions during Brighton’s recent slide down the table — from fifth in December, to 14th now — when set pieces have cost them dear. A useful point away at Aston Villa slipped through their fingers last week when a near-post header by Tyrone Mings from a corner brushed off Jack Hinshelwood and into his own net.
In the 1-1 home draw against Bournemouth in January, the visitors went in front with a counter-attack from a Brighton corner, which ended up in a penalty conceded by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and converted by Marcus Tavernier.
All of these concessions will have been especially frustrating for Yannick Euvrard, a watchful and sometimes demonstrative presence in the technical area when Brighton are defending set plays or trying to score from them.
Brighton set-piece coach Yannick Euvrard during his time with Anderlecht (Kristof van Accom/Getty Images)
Euvrard was appointed set-piece coach last summer after two years in the same role at Anderlecht and before that for four years with the Belgium FA. The 40-year-old former right-back in his playing career for KSV Roeselare, Weathering, and OH Leuven was brought in by Hurzeler in search of marginal gains.
Euvrard’s arrival formed part of an overhaul of the backroom team. Set pieces were looked after jointly last season by former goalkeeper coach Marco Knoop and Hurzeler’s assistant, Jonas Scheuermann. Planning how to defend them was down to Knoop, who joined Brighton with Hurzeler from St. Pauli. Scheuermann was in charge of attacking set plays. The revamp included the departure of Knoop and fellow goalkeeper coach Jack Stern, with the pair replaced by Dutchman Jelle ten Rouwelaar.
On the face of it, there was not much room for improvement with attacking set plays. Brighton scored the highest number of goals from set pieces in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign, according to figures from Opta. The tally of 22 goals was two better than Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, three more than the number scored by Liverpool, Arsenal, Brentford and Aston Villa.
Goals from set pieces 2024-25
Set-piece goals were responsible for a third of the overall total of 66, as Hurzeler’s side finished eighth in the German’s first season as head coach.
But it was a different story when trying to stop opponents. They shipped 18 goals from set pieces, the joint fourth-worst record in the division with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Goals conceded from set pieces 2024-25
So, what has changed so far this season? The effectiveness of attacking set plays has diminished. Ten goals have been scored from set plays, placing Brighton joint 14th in the table with Sunderland.
Joel Veltman grabbed the second equaliser in a 2-2 draw at West Ham in the final fixture of 2025 with a left-foot volley at the far post after an in-swinging corner from Ferdi Kadioglu was palmed straight to the Dutchman by West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
They have gone close on other occasions recently, including Saturday’s 3-0 exit from the fourth round of the FA Cup against Liverpool at Anfield, when an angled header by skipper Lewis Dunk from a Pascal Gross free kick was parried away by Allison. Both Gross and Maxim De Cuyper are capable of delivering dangerous balls into the box.
Goals from set pieces 2025-26
The fall in the number of goals scored from set plays is a further indication of how much Joao Pedro has been missed since the Brazilian forward’s £60million ($80m) move to Chelsea last summer. Five of the set-piece goals last season were Joao Pedro penalties — he had an outstanding success rate of 15 out of 16 from the spot during his time at the club.
Only three of five penalties have been converted this season — by James Milner against Manchester City (2-1), Matt O’Riley against Fulham (1-1), and Danny Welbeck in that 2-2 draw at West Ham. Welbeck had a penalty saved by Jordan Pickford in a 2-0 defeat at Everton in August. He also hit the crossbar with a Panenka attempt in the eventful visit to West Ham.
On the flip side, there has been improvement overall in the number of goals leaked from set plays this season. Brighton are 12th best in the rankings with 13 goals conceded.
Goals conceded from set pieces 2025-26
There is greater concentration in training on set pieces to reflect how decisive they have often been in games. “Definitely, we do more work,” said Hurzeler. “But I think it’s also important what your identity as a club is and what your style of play is. And then also, when you analyse a game, how many goal kicks you have, how many throw-ins you have, how often you have the ball. So, it’s really understanding what you need in the game, and then you try to train these kinds of things more often.
“On top of that, I think it’s just crucial to stick to your principles, to stick to your style of play. So, we are always a club that wants to outplay an opponent, to control the ball, and therefore, you need to invest time to do this in training sessions, but definitely, regarding the trend, you need to adapt to it, and you need to train it more.”
Hurzeler’s side will be tested by Brentford’s set pieces at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday, especially long throws from Michael Kayode. Arsenal, kings of the set plays this season, got a taste of their own medicine when Brentford held the league leaders to a 1-1 draw in their last home game. The 71st-minute equaliser by Keane Lewis-Potter came for Keith Andrews’ side via a Kayode throw.
Andrews, on loan from Bolton Wanderers in Brighton’s midfield when they reached the Championship play-offs in 2013-14 under Oscar Garcia, was Brentford’s set-piece coach last season before succeeding Thomas Frank following the Dane’s ill-fated move to Tottenham. There is a lot more to seventh-placed Brentford’s impressive progress under Andrews than just set plays, but the threat to the hopes of Hurzeler’s side improving on a dismal run of one win in 13 league games — including five away defeats — is clear.
“You have to pray,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said of the Kayode long throw. “The chaos that is in and around that ball is very, very difficult to defend. We said, ‘You want to win here? You’re going to have to defend the box with your life.’”