Olympiacos execute the most effective corners in Europe

Set phases are Olympiacos’ great weapon this year. The red and white remain champions and unbeaten in this year’s Super League Interwetten and won another derby on Sunday.

This time they didn’t beat it with pressure and counterattacks like in the first round derby but thanks to a corner and Embila beating Tsintotas in the second try.

As we saw in a recent text, the Frenchman’s goal was the tenth Olympiakos scored from a corner kick in the league. And four more from fouls (three from crosses and one direct), totaling 14 goals from sets.

37% of Red-White goals have come this way, filling the gap created by this year’s decline in threat.

Only three teams have more in the big leagues

But how easy is it for a team to score ten goals in a corner? Not easy at all, on the contrary very difficult. In the five major European leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France) only three teams have scored double-digit corner kicks.

Liverpool have 15 goals in the Premier League, City have 11 and Inter have 10 in Serie A. The other 95 teams in the top five leagues have under ten goals for Olympiacos this year.

First with the outrageous goal all 11 corners

To find those ten goals, Olympiacos took 110 corner kicks in this year’s championship. In other words, he needs 11 corners to celebrate a goal. And that is an outrageous achievement.

See the chart for the 14+1 teams that are most effective in the corners right now.

The +1 team is Olympiacos. No one is more effective than the Reds and Whites, no team needs less than 11 corners for every goal they score.

Liverpool is the most effective team in the top 5 leagues. Klopp’s team has taken 188 corners to score 15 goals, one goal every 12.5 corners.

Such suitability cannot be continued

And here, of course, it is worth saying the following. Such suitability on the part of Olympiacos can only be temporary. The average of the top 5 leagues this year is that it takes around 25 corner kicks to score a goal.

A fitness like Olympiacos’ may be welcome and beneficial to the team that has it, but it cannot be cemented. Yes, it requires good execution, analysis of the opponents by the responsible part of the team, but above all it is a matter of luck.

There isn’t a team that can be that accurate in the corners all the time. Just look at Liverpool’s performance.

The Reds have scored double digit goals for the 4th consecutive season in the Premier League. You have the executions of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson, you have the commanding presence of Van Dyke.

Above all, they have a top-notch analytics department that allows them to use their players’ data in the most efficient way.

However, Liverpool still haven’t reached the eligibility of Olympiacos this year either. In 2019, the Reds hit all 18.3 corners, in 2020 all 16.5 and last year all 23 executions. This year they are “hot” and celebrate a goal every 12.5 corners.

Liverpool’s performance is also doomed. The same goes for the outrageous ‘one goal every 11 corners’ Olympiacos have this year.

When a team finds that form, you celebrate the goals and the wins, but it’s by no means a given that the timing stays the same.