First-team coach Mauricio Pellegrino today dismissed criticism of zonal marking - claiming Liverpool were among the best in the country at defending set pieces.
Some pundits question the zonal system employed by Rafa Benitez despite Pepe Reina winning three successive Golden Glove awards for most clean sheets in a Premier League season.
Pellegrino was at the heart of Valencia's defence when they won La Liga using zonal marking - and he insists it is serving Liverpool well despite lapses which led to goals against Portsmouth and Everton.
The Argentine told us: "My opinion is that people need to criticise the result, not the method. Before the last three games, we were among the best two teams at defending set pieces. Now, after these games, we are still among the top five teams at defending set pieces.
"At the end you have to choose one method - zonal or man marking. We chose this one because we trust it. Both methods can be good if you focus on your job and do it properly. The most important thing is not the method - it's the way you manage the method.
"We know we've made some mistakes and we are working on this to make sure we don't concede more goals, but we defend a lot of set plays - that's why the other teams will sometimes score goals."
Some pundits question the zonal system employed by Rafa Benitez despite Pepe Reina winning three successive Golden Glove awards for most clean sheets in a Premier League season.
Pellegrino was at the heart of Valencia's defence when they won La Liga using zonal marking - and he insists it is serving Liverpool well despite lapses which led to goals against Portsmouth and Everton.
The Argentine told us: "My opinion is that people need to criticise the result, not the method. Before the last three games, we were among the best two teams at defending set pieces. Now, after these games, we are still among the top five teams at defending set pieces.
"At the end you have to choose one method - zonal or man marking. We chose this one because we trust it. Both methods can be good if you focus on your job and do it properly. The most important thing is not the method - it's the way you manage the method.
"We know we've made some mistakes and we are working on this to make sure we don't concede more goals, but we defend a lot of set plays - that's why the other teams will sometimes score goals."
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