From Man City’s De Bruyne to Liverpool’s Trent: Exploring the Best Corner Kick Routines of All Time

From Man City’s De Bruyne to Liverpool’s Trent: Exploring the Best Corner Kick Routines of All Time

Byron Pillay
March 11, 2024 at 6:49 PM
In this article:
Trent Alexander-Arnold logo
T.Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool logoDEngland logo
Kevin De Bruyne logo
K. D. Bruyne
Manchester City logoMBelgium logo
Divock Origi logo
D. Origi
AC Milan logoFBelgium logo
John Stones logo
J.Stones
Manchester City logoDEngland logo
Liverpool logo
Liverpool
England
45
Manchester City logo
Manchester City
England
26
Manchester United logo
Manchester United
England
30
Chelsea logo
Chelsea
England
61
Wayne Rooney logo
W. Rooney
MLS All-Stars logoFEngland logo
Cristiano Ronaldo logo
C. Ronaldo
Al Nassr FC logoFPortugal logo
R. Giggs
-MWales logo
VfL Bochum logo
VfL Bochum
Germany
25
Dynamo Dresden logo
Dynamo Dresden
Germany
27
FC Barcelona logo
FC Barcelona
Spain
35
Bayern Munich logo
Bayern Munich
Germany
38
  • Manchester City's goal against Liverpool proved that a well-taken corner kick can work wonders
  • Trent Alexander-Arnold's quick corner for Liverpool against Barcelona will forever be remembered
  • Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery combined perfectly for a beautiful goal against Manchester United

Goals win you football games.

Sometimes, goals are hard to come by during open play, but the best teams know how to make the most of their set-piece opportunities to score.

Some teams have specially appointed coaches focusing on set pieces, which paid off for Manchester City over the weekend.

Kevin de Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold were responsible for two of the most well-worked corner kicks in recent time.
Kevin de Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold are proof that a well-worked corner kick routine can yield goals. Image: Michael Regan/ Andrew Powell.
Source: Getty Images

The Citizens scored their only goal of the game through a well-worked corner, and Sports Brief looks at other instances where teams exploited a corner perfectly to score a goal.

The best corner kick routines

Manchester City vs Liverpool

John Stones caught Liverpool napping when he latched onto a Kevin De Bruyne corner to give City the lead.

While Liverpool's players expected the ball to be floated in, City opted to play it more direct, short and straight into the danger area.

Jurgen Klopp's men had little time to react, and Stones pounced onto the ball, beating Caoimhin Kelleher at the near post.

Manchester United vs Chelsea

Manchester United pulled off a clever routine in 2009, which was actually too clever for the linesman.

Wayne Rooney took the ball over to the corner flag and slightly kicked it to ensure it was live.

Ryan Giggs walked over and ran towards the box with the ball while Chelsea players assumed he would still take the kick. The Welshman crossed it for Ronaldo to head home, but the goal was chalked off and had to be retaken.

It didn't prove too costly, as United also scored from the second attempt as well.

Bayern Munich vs Manchester United

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry were a handful of opposition players when they played for Bayern Munich.

The duo were lethal down the wings and were responsible for one of the most well-worked goals from a corner.

Instead of floating the ball into the box as many teams do, Robben waited at the edge of the box while Ribéry picked him out with a perfect call.

The Dutchman then volleyed it into the bottom corner of the net, leaving United's players with no chance.

VfL Bochum vs Dynamo Dresden

It's hard to mark players in a corner if they are all lined up together.

That's precisely what VfL Bochum did when they scored against Dynamo Dresden.

Bochum's attackers formed an orderly queue before splitting to confuse the defenders.

The ball was headed towards the back post, where an unmarked player had the most straightforward job of tapping in.

Liverpool vs Barcelona

The phrase 'corner taken quickly…Origiii' will forever be etched in the minds of Liverpool and Barcelona fans.

During a Champions League game, Trent Alexander-Arnold quickly fired a ball into the box, and Divock Origi fired it into the back of the net.

The quick-thinking actions of TAA caught Barca off guard and ensured that Liverpool booked a place in the Champions League final.

The best goals direct from corner kicks

Sport Brief previously reported that five goals were scored directly from a corner kick.

The term is known as an Olympic goal, and there have been some great ones over the years.

Angel di Maria recently scored one in the UEFA Champions League against RB Salzburg.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.