Amid all the excitement and admiration of Liverpool’s campaign last year, there were a number of notable performances that stood out. One of these was the improvement of Philippe Coutinho, and he’s continued to grow this season.
He’s always had that skill and Brazilian flair that can wow any football crowd, but last year, one of his downsides was that the stamina wasn’t there as much as other players.
If he started, we used to get around 60-70 minutes of the real Coutinho, as he would continually fade throughout the latter stages. If he came on as a substitute, the impact was there, but his quality was that impressive, you want to get full use of him.
As much as we loved the skill and flair of Coutinho’s game last year, we all know that what Brendan Rodgers really wants in his side is pace. With Coutinho’s stamina levels last season, it wasn’t that he was a passenger, but definitely not as effective in the final quarters of each game. You always had the hope that he would conjure up some magic, just like the Manchester City winning goal, but his overall presence may fade.
This year, we are seeing the full 90 minutes of ‘the magician’. His quality is still present, as he weaves his way in and out of the opposition defences, but will the added persistence and pressure. It doesn’t feel like a given this year that he is going to be the first starter to be subbed.
No comments:
Post a Comment