Universitatea Craiova is grappling with significant weaknesses in their defense, particularly with set pieces, as the new season unfolds. Under head coach Filipe Coelho, the team has conceded 10 goals across all competitions, with seven of those coming from dead-ball situations, such as corners and free-kicks. This defensive frailty has played a crucial role in their early exit from the Champions League and contributed to disappointing results, including a 1-5 loss to Dinamo and a 1-1 draw against KuPS in the Europa League.
Signs of this issue emerged during the double-header against Levski Sofia in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Craiova lost the first leg 0-1 in Sofia and subsequently drew 2-2 at home, resulting in a 2-3 aggregate elimination. Notably, all three goals scored by Levski were a result of set pieces, exposing significant defensive lapses from the Romanian side.
Before facing Levski, Craiova suffered a heavy defeat to Dinamo in the league, where three of Dinamo’s goals also originated from set plays. Players Soro, Cîrjan, and Pascual capitalized on the disorganized defense, contributing to one of the most severe defeats for the champions this season.
Continued Set-Piece Problems for Craiova
The issues persisted in the Europa League, where they faced KuPS in the first leg of the third qualifying round. Despite taking the lead through Baiaram in the first half, Craiova conceded the equalizer in the 72nd minute after a corner kick, illustrating that set pieces remain a persistent challenge.
This season marks a stark contrast to last season when set-piece defense was one of Craiova’s strengths. Under Coelho, during their championship-winning campaign, the team conceded only one goal from set-piece situations in 24 league matches, a remarkable improvement over their current season’s performance.
Stark Contrast to Last Season
In the previous season, which witnessed Craiova winning the league title, they allowed just 15 league goals. In comparison, during the Cup of Romania, they conceded only two out of four goals from set plays, and across three European matches, they allowed two from set pieces as well. Overall, throughout 32 matches across all competitions last season, they conceded 24 goals, with only five coming from dead-ball scenarios.
This season, however, just weeks into the competition, Craiova has already surpassed the number of goals conceded from set pieces that they allowed during the initial phase of Coelho’s tenure, which began in November 2025 after the departure of Mirel Rădoi.
