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Is Coutinho really key?
- Updated: December 21, 2016
The Liverpool line-up that Philippe Coutinho rejoins will be a stronger one for having shown they can cope without him, writes Adam Bate.
When Philippe Coutinho went down with an ankle injury against Sunderland last month, there was concern. Concern for the player’s health and for the team’s prospects. Fantasy football managers rushed to make their transfers. Fans wondered what would happen next. But Jurgen Klopp was sanguine. “Of course we can handle it,” he said.
Almost a month on and Liverpool are still going strong. Sadio Mane’s stoppage-time winner in the Merseyside derby secured back-to-back away wins and means the Reds will spend Christmas Day in second spot. Naturally, the Brazilian has been missed. Liverpool stumbled against both Bournemouth and West Ham. But their attacking potency has remained.
Perhaps that should not be a surprise. It’s part of Klopp’s design. His teams do not place the onus on one playmaker. By winning the ball high up the pitch through pressing, the same goal of getting in good positions is achieved. “No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation,” Klopp told Monday Night Football earlier this season.
So while Coutinho’s quality is not in dispute, even the man who curled in that free-kick on the opening weekend at Arsenal is not the key to Liverpool’s success. “Phil, as good as he is, cannot decide games on his own even if it looks …
