Sebastian Larsson: The perfect delivery

“My corners always go to waste. Do you have any tips for whipping in a better delivery?”
Dave Lowe, via email

Sebastian Larsson says:

“Working out a routine on the training ground is very important. You need to know what players are running where and they need to know where you’re aiming to hit.

Then the key is putting the ball in a dangerous area – a zone where people are going to attack the ball and it’s difficult to defend.

Don’t think too much about what the goalkeeper’s going to do. Focus on your technique and hitting the right area. If you do that it’s going to be difficult for the goalkeeper and defenders. After that it’s up to your team-mates to attack the ball.

I try to put a lot of power into my delivery and make it dip at the last minute – when the ball is high and dips at the last second it’s very difficult to defend.

Try to connect with the ball slightly to the side, off the valve with your sidefoot, but almost with the laces – this gives the delivery power and makes it move up and down.”

For more football tips see:
Defending corners: The essentials
Tony Carr: Score from a corner
How to zonal mark from a corner