Chelsea become Premier League set-piece leaders as club overhauls corner approach

Chelsea have emerged as the Premier League’s most efficient team from corners after a marked tactical overhaul and focused work on set plays.

The Blues have scored from four of the 22 corners they have taken this season, a conversion rate of 18.18 percent, up from seven goals from 234 corners (2.99 percent) across last season. The club has also reduced the proportion of corners taken short from 28.63 percent last term to 13.64 percent this season, a change that has coincided with increased direct deliveries into the penalty area and a new emphasis on rehearsed routines.

Reports within the club point to set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva as a central figure in the transformation. Cueva, who is typically based at the back of the substitutes’ bench with a screen, is regularly observed walking down to the touchline during corners to position players and issue instructions. Scenes from inside Stamford Bridge have included audible instructions from the technical area, with Cueva directing players to specific spots — instructions staff described as precise and rehearsed.

The change in approach has produced early returns. Joao Pedro scored with a header from an Enzo Fernandez corner at West Ham, and repeated the gesture in the next league game against Fulham, while Liam Delap’s role in disturbing opposition keepers has been highlighted as a disruptive presence in the box during set plays. Marc Cucurella has been used at the near post on occasions for flick-ons and deliveries have come from the likes of Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez.

Chelsea’s set-piece gains will be tested when they face Brentford, with Caoimhín Kelleher, the goalkeeper signed from Liverpool in the summer for a reported £18 million, expected to start. Kelleher’s handling of crosses has been scrutinised at times in his career, and Chelsea will seek to exploit any perceived weakness on deliveries into the penalty area.

In squad management and transfer business, Chelsea have been active and pragmatic. Marc Guiu was recalled from a season-long loan at Sunderland after featuring only for short substitute appearances — 13 minutes across two appearances — and was brought back to provide striker cover while Liam Delap recovers from injury. The club will consider sending Guiu out on loan again in the January window if Delap returns to fitness and the striker’s pathway requires regular minutes.

Another youth loan involving Chelsea closed in the final moments of the transfer window. Midfielder Kiano Dyer joined Eredivisie side Volendam with four minutes and 10 seconds to spare before the deadline, and signed a new contract with Chelsea through 2030 at the same time. Volendam face Go Ahead Eagles this weekend.

Chelsea’s recruitment and development pipeline has also been occupied with the arrival and integration of Brazil winger Estevão Willian. The 18-year-old has been helped to settle in London by team-mates including Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos; club scouts based in the UK have since returned to South America, leaving internal staff to continue working on the teenager’s adaptation, including encouraging English-language practice at Cobham.

Off the field, a number of other issues have emerged. Former Chelsea TV presenter Alison Bender has publicly revealed receiving a rape threat via Instagram. In a statement she thanked supporters and called for greater accountability from social platforms, saying she had grown numb to such messages because they were "pretty commonplace" for many female colleagues. Bender added that she was "absolutely fine" and told abusive correspondents to "f*** off."

Refereeing matters from Chelsea’s recent 2-0 win over Fulham also continue to draw attention. Fulham included Josh King’s disallowed strike in a club-run vote for goal of the month after the goal was ruled out following a VAR review. PGMOL head Howard Webb later contacted Fulham and acknowledged that VAR official Michael Salisbury had been wrong to intervene. Salisbury has been removed from Premier League match duties for the immediate return weekend and was omitted from Liverpool-Arsenal VAR duties the following day. Referee Rob Jones, who disallowed the goal after a pitchside review, will serve only as a fourth official in the upcoming West Ham–Tottenham match.

Chelsea’s January sale and loan plans may also be affected by wider market reports. Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has publicly claimed that Nicolas Jackson’s loan obligation to Bayern is conditional on the striker starting 40 games and that only Bundesliga and Champions League appearances would count toward that total; Chelsea and Jackson’s representatives have declined to comment on those claims.

The club continues to expand its non-playing staff, advertising roles that include a Mental Health Senior Officer and a First-Team Data Analyst. The latter posting lists responsibilities such as creating visual summaries of analysis so findings can be translated clearly to players and coaching staff.

Chelsea’s set-piece improvement represents one of several strands of activity across the club — from tactical tweaks and coaching detail to academy loans, player integration and off-field staffing — as the Blues seek to convert early-season work into consistent results on the pitch.