Sometimes in football you go into a game with a plan and it doesn’t quite work out. Everyone is tentative, the touches are poor and the decision making is below par. The opposition are passing like you’re not even there and you need something, anything to get you going and get back into the game.
Sound familiar? It is exactly how Liverpool approached the first half away at the Emirates.
In games like that, you need a stimulant to get you off the ground. It could be the manager, it could be a dodgy decision in your favour, or most often it could be a player who decides to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Enter, Phillipe Coutinho.
When Arsenal were dominating the game, it was Coutinho who gave us the kick up the arse we needed in the dying minutes of the first half. He wins a free-kick off of Rob Holding, picks the ball up, eyes his target and smashes the ball into the top corner. All of a sudden, we have the belief now to win the match and it’s because the little magician pulled another trick out of the hat.
This is exactly what fans want more of from Coutinho and it’s about time he did it more often. Every team has that player that you turn to when the team is struggling. The kind of player you get on the back of your shirt every season.
Leicester have Riyad Mahrez, West Ham have Dimitri Payet, Arsenal have Alexis Sanchez and so on and so forth.
For the longest time, we’ve missed that, ever since Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard left the club. You could argue that Daniel Sturridge is that player and I believe that when fit he’s our best player but until his injury problems settle, we can’t overly rely on him.
Now there’s no doubt that Coutinho has the ability to be that player, but how many games must we wait until the next moment of brilliance? He’s shown us in abundance against big teams but not much against, say a West Brom at home.
He’s 24-years-old and starting to approach the prime of his career. When you’re young, inconsistency is common but when you’re older and an established part of the first team, you’ve got to produce results every week.
For 20 minutes at the Emirates, Coutinho was, as the rest of the team, absolutely unplayable, but for 44 minutes prior he was anonymous. Last season, he got 10+ goals for the first time in his Liverpool career but they came in patches throughout the season. In a season as competitive as this one, we can’t afford for him to go missing at crucial times.
I understand as a ‘winger’ you can sometimes be on the periphery, but with the fluid system we play and his natural ability on the ball, he has every chance to affect the match.
Jürgen Klopp emphasises that we must play as a team and that nothing should revolve around just one player. While I agree with that to an extent, I also believe that one special player can be enough to just get you over the line in certain matches with outstanding individual performances.
Ever since Coutinho joined us, I’ve seen him improve year on year to the player he is now. For most of that time he hasn’t been the main man at the club, now I think it’s time for him to step up and show the world just how special he is.
