Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has flown to Ukraine to finalise a deal to bring Yevhen Konoplyanka to Anfield.
Reports emerged this week that Konoplyanka, who plays for FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, is Liverpool’s number one target during the January transfer window, which closes on Friday night.
Chris Bascombe of Telegraph reports on Thursday that the Reds face some last minute competition from a familiar rival:
However, in what has become a familiar theme in recent seasons, it emerged on Wednesday night that Spurs are rivalling Liverpool for the player.
24-year-old Konoplyanka’s agent, is hyping up the transfer situation, too, suggesting it is far from a done deal with Liverpool, though he does expect his client to sign for an English club imminently.
The agent told Gazeta,ua, with quotes translated by ESPN, “When writing about the interest from Liverpool, these people only know part of the truth.
“Yesterday, I had a long and productive conversation with the chairman of another English club. The chances of Yevhen moving to England soon are very high. His club might be Liverpool or another English club.”
Liverpool were left disappointed last week when Chelsea beat them to the signing of Egyptian international winger Mohamed Salah.
They will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself with Tottenham’s late interest.
Bascombe adds in his article for the Telegraph of the importance of Liverpool signing a high-quality player to remain in contention to finish fourth in the Premier League this season:
A deal for Konoplyanka would go some way to appeasing those eager to ensure an ideal opportunity to return to the Champions League – and retain players of the calibre of Luis Suárez – is not squandered in the final 15 games of the season.
Liverpool’s 4-0 victory over Everton on Tuesday night, and Spurs’ 5-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night, means there is now a three point gap between the two teams, who sit fourth and fifth respectively.
Furthermore, Brendan Rodgers‘ side have a better goal difference than Spurs by some 30 goals.
Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has flown to Ukraine to finalise a deal to bring Yevhen Konoplyanka to Anfield.
Reports emerged this week that Konoplyanka, who plays for FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, is Liverpool’s number one target during the January transfer window, which closes on Friday night.
Chris Bascombe of Telegraph reports on Thursday that the Reds face some last minute competition from a familiar rival:
However, in what has become a familiar theme in recent seasons, it emerged on Wednesday night that Spurs are rivalling Liverpool for the player.
24-year-old Konoplyanka’s agent, is hyping up the transfer situation, too, suggesting it is far from a done deal with Liverpool, though he does expect his client to sign for an English club imminently.
The agent told Gazeta,ua, with quotes translated by ESPN, “When writing about the interest from Liverpool, these people only know part of the truth.
“Yesterday, I had a long and productive conversation with the chairman of another English club. The chances of Yevhen moving to England soon are very high. His club might be Liverpool or another English club.”
Liverpool were left disappointed last week when Chelsea beat them to the signing of Egyptian international winger Mohamed Salah.
They will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself with Tottenham’s late interest.
Bascombe adds in his article for the Telegraph of the importance of Liverpool signing a high-quality player to remain in contention to finish fourth in the Premier League this season:
A deal for Konoplyanka would go some way to appeasing those eager to ensure an ideal opportunity to return to the Champions League – and retain players of the calibre of Luis Suárez – is not squandered in the final 15 games of the season.
Liverpool’s 4-0 victory over Everton on Tuesday night, and Spurs’ 5-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night, means there is now a three point gap between the two teams, who sit fourth and fifth respectively.
Furthermore, Brendan Rodgers‘ side have a better goal difference than Spurs by some 30 goals.
Juan Mata's assist record, Steven Gerrard's derby joy and a Sergio Aguero milestone feature in our review of the midweek Premier League stats.
TEAMtalk takes a look at the key Opta statistics following the midweek Premier League action which saw Manchester City take over at the top following a 5-1 win at Tottenham, Juan Mata get off to a winning start with Manchester United and Liverpool destroying Everton 4-0 in the Merseyside derby.
Manchester United 2 Cardiff City 0
Robin van Persie has scored five times in his last six Premier League games.
In his last 10 league starts at Old Trafford, Van Persie has bagged eight goals.
Since August 2011, only David Silva (29) has more assists in the Premier League than Juan Mata (28).
Cardiff have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven Premier League games.
Manchester United have won three and lost three of their last six home league games.
Manchester United have earned 1,001 points at Old Trafford in Premier League history, more than any other team has managed on home soil.
Cardiff City have won none and lost seven of their last nine Premier League away games (W0 D2 L7).
Norwich City 0 Newcastle United 0
Norwich have won three and lost none of the last five Premier League home matches against Newcastle (W3 D2).
Newcastle United ended a run of 12 Premier League away games this season without a draw (W7 L5).
There have been just five goals scored in the last five Premier League meetings between the Canaries and the Magpies.
Newcastle United have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League games.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel is now without a goal in 15 games (all competitions).
Loic Remy has mustered just one goal in his last six appearances in all competitions.
Loic Remy was awarded a red card for the first time in league competition since April 17th 2011 (for Marseille v Montpellier).
Bradley Johnson recorded his first red card in a Norwich City shirt.
Loic Remy attempted eight shots (including blocked) against Norwich City.
Southampton 2 Arsenal 2
All four of Jose Fonte's Premier League goals have come at St Mary's.
Southampton have now drawn level with Arsenal for netting the most headed goals this season (9; also Liverpool).
Fonte's goals was the first first-half goal the Gunners have shipped in the Premier League in seven games, since going 2-1 down at Manchester City on December 14.
Fonte's goal was also the second earliest Arsenal have shipped in the PL this season (21 mins), although even after that strike, the Gunners have still conceded fewer first-half goals than any other side (7).
This is the first time Santi Cazorla has scored in consecutive league games since January 2013.
This is only the second time Arsenal have shipped more than one goal in a game in their last 22 Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal have now collected 74 red cards in the Premier League; only Everton (77) and Blackburn (76) have more.
The Gunners have won just once on their last five trips to St. Mary's, drawing three and losing one.
Swansea City 2 Fulham 0
Jonjo Shelvey has netted in both of Swansea's Premier League clashes with Fulham this season.
Fulham have shipped 14 goals from long range this season in the Premier League, more than any other side.
The Whites have now gone eight league games without keeping a clean sheet, the longest run without a shut-out in the top division.
In netting against Fulham and bringing his season tally to two for the Swansea, Spanish defender Chico has doubled last season's haul of just one goal (in all comps).
Under Rene Meulensteen, Fulham have shipped 26 goals in 10 games, more than they conceded under Martin Jol this season in 13 games (24).
Fulham have failed to score in their last two games and in three of their last five league fixtures.
There have been six Premier League meetings between Fulham and Swansea and the Welsh side have won five and lost just one.
The Swans' victory came after a run of eight games without a win, their worst-ever run in the Premier League without tasting victory.
Crystal Palace 1 Hull City 0
Hull have won only six of their previous 50 Premier League away games (D14 L30).
Jason Puncheon has scored in his last three successive home games in the Barclays Premier League.
Crystal Palace have scored at least once in five of their last six home games in the Premier League.
Since putting six past Fulham; Hull City have gone four league games without a goal.
Nikica Jelavic has failed to score in any of his 11 Premier League appearances this term.
Other than Hull, only one other team (Aston Villa) has failed to score in four successive Premier League games this season.
Palace have lost just one of their last seven home league games (W4 D2).
Hull City have managed just two wins in their last 12 away games, in all competitions.
Liverpool 4 Everton 0
Steven Gerrard scored only his seventh headed goal in the Premier League (from 104 overall).
Only versus Aston Villa (12) has Steven Gerrard scored more Premier League goals than against Everton (now 8).
The Liverpool captain is the top appearance maker (28) and top scorer (8) in Premier League Merseyside derbies.
In all competitions, Gerrard has now scored nine times against Everton (eight in the league and one in the FA Cup).
Gerrard has scored in three consecutive appearances in the Premier League. He last managed goals in four consecutive games back in December 2007.
Daniel Sturridge has scored in 12 of his 15 Premier League appearances this season (13 goals in total).
Sturridge has scored more than once in a Premier League game for the first time this season. His last league brace came against Newcastle in April.
Liverpool scored four goals in a game against Everton for the first time since the FA Cup in February 1991 (4-4).
This was the biggest victory in a Merseyside derby since November 1982 when Liverpool won 5-0.
Luis Suarez has matched his league goal total from last season in just 18 appearances (compared to 33 in 2012/13).
Suarez has scored in four of his five Premier League Merseyside derby appearances.
Liverpool have won eight and lost just one of their last 15 Premier League Merseyside derbies.
Everton have won none of the last 14 Premier League visits to Anfield, drawing seven and losing seven in that run.
Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion
Christian Benteke has scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances after going 11 Premier League games without one.
One third of Aston Villa's 12 home goals this season came in this game (4).
This was only the sixth game in Premier League history to see both teams score three or more goals before half-time.
This was the first time Villa have come from two goals behind to win a Premier League game since April 2005 (vs Southampton).
It was the first time Villa had scored three goals before half-time since April 2008 vs Derby.
Villa have come from 2-0 down in both of their games against West Brom this season.
WBA had five shots in the first half and scored three times, but had seven after the break and failed to register a goal.
Fabian Delph became the fourth Premier League player this season to score a goal and an own goal in the same game (after Bardsley, Kompany and Chester).
West Brom have now gone eight Premier League away games without a clean sheet.
Sunderland v Stoke City
Adam Johnson has scored or assisted each of Sunderland's last seven Premier League goals.
Indeed, Johnson has scored five goals in his last three Premier League appearances.
Adam Johnson has equalled his highest ever goal tally for a single Premier League season (6).
Stoke have now gone seven Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet; currently, only Fulham (8) have conceded in more consecutive matches.
Stoke have failed to score a first half Premier League goal in four of their last five games.
There have been red cards in four of the last five Barclays Premier League meetings between Sunderland and Stoke.
Stoke have failed to score in five of their six previous Premier League visits to Sunderland.
Stoke are yet to win a Premier League match at the Stadium of Light, losing four (D2).
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
Sergio Aguero scored his 50th Premier League goal in this match - in what was his 81st PL appearance.
Aguero became the fifth quickest player to reach the 50-goal landmark in the Premier League - only Andy Cole (65 games), Alan Shearer (66), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68) and Fernando Torres (72) managed to do it quicker.
Aguero has scored five goals in five Premier League appearances against Spurs.
Since he joined Manchester City on the eve of the 2010-11 season, David Silva has more assists than any other player (37) in the competition.
Manchester City have scored the first goal in 18 Premier League games this season - more often than any other side.
Yaya Toure has scored seven goals in his last nine Premier League appearances.
Edin Dzeko has now scored six goals in six appearances against Tottenham in the Premier League; more than against any other side.
The last team to score 11 goals in the same league season against Spurs was Arsenal in 1934-35. No side has ever scored more in a league season versus Spurs than City this term (11).
Man City (68) have bettered their goal tally from the whole of the 2012-13 Premier League season (66), with 15 games remaining in 2013-14.
Manchester City attempted 21 shots at goal in this match, equalling the most by an away side in a Premier League fixture this season.
Chelsea v West Ham United
West Ham have now kept 10 clean sheets this season; a joint-high with Arsenal.
Chelsea had 39 shots tonight (incl. blocked shots); the most by any team who failed to score in the PL since 2003/04.
The last team to have more than 39 shots in a single game was Manchester City, when they sealed the title in May 2012 with a dramatic victory over Queens Park Rangers (44).
West Ham made 13 blocks tonight, equalling the record for the season which they already held (also 13 against Liverpool).
West Ham only had one shot today; a joint-low by a single team in the Premier League this season (with Fulham against Sunderland on 26th October).
Chelsea have only lost one of their last 16 meetings with West Ham in the Premier League (W12 D3).
The Hammers have won none of their last eight Premier League trips to Stamford Bridge (D2 L6).
Juan Mata's assist record, Steven Gerrard's derby joy and a Sergio Aguero milestone feature in our review of the midweek Premier League stats.
TEAMtalk takes a look at the key Opta statistics following the midweek Premier League action which saw Manchester City take over at the top following a 5-1 win at Tottenham, Juan Mata get off to a winning start with Manchester United and Liverpool destroying Everton 4-0 in the Merseyside derby.
Manchester United 2 Cardiff City 0
Robin van Persie has scored five times in his last six Premier League games.
In his last 10 league starts at Old Trafford, Van Persie has bagged eight goals.
Since August 2011, only David Silva (29) has more assists in the Premier League than Juan Mata (28).
Cardiff have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven Premier League games.
Manchester United have won three and lost three of their last six home league games.
Manchester United have earned 1,001 points at Old Trafford in Premier League history, more than any other team has managed on home soil.
Cardiff City have won none and lost seven of their last nine Premier League away games (W0 D2 L7).
Norwich City 0 Newcastle United 0
Norwich have won three and lost none of the last five Premier League home matches against Newcastle (W3 D2).
Newcastle United ended a run of 12 Premier League away games this season without a draw (W7 L5).
There have been just five goals scored in the last five Premier League meetings between the Canaries and the Magpies.
Newcastle United have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League games.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel is now without a goal in 15 games (all competitions).
Loic Remy has mustered just one goal in his last six appearances in all competitions.
Loic Remy was awarded a red card for the first time in league competition since April 17th 2011 (for Marseille v Montpellier).
Bradley Johnson recorded his first red card in a Norwich City shirt.
Loic Remy attempted eight shots (including blocked) against Norwich City.
Southampton 2 Arsenal 2
All four of Jose Fonte's Premier League goals have come at St Mary's.
Southampton have now drawn level with Arsenal for netting the most headed goals this season (9; also Liverpool).
Fonte's goals was the first first-half goal the Gunners have shipped in the Premier League in seven games, since going 2-1 down at Manchester City on December 14.
Fonte's goal was also the second earliest Arsenal have shipped in the PL this season (21 mins), although even after that strike, the Gunners have still conceded fewer first-half goals than any other side (7).
This is the first time Santi Cazorla has scored in consecutive league games since January 2013.
This is only the second time Arsenal have shipped more than one goal in a game in their last 22 Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal have now collected 74 red cards in the Premier League; only Everton (77) and Blackburn (76) have more.
The Gunners have won just once on their last five trips to St. Mary's, drawing three and losing one.
Swansea City 2 Fulham 0
Jonjo Shelvey has netted in both of Swansea's Premier League clashes with Fulham this season.
Fulham have shipped 14 goals from long range this season in the Premier League, more than any other side.
The Whites have now gone eight league games without keeping a clean sheet, the longest run without a shut-out in the top division.
In netting against Fulham and bringing his season tally to two for the Swansea, Spanish defender Chico has doubled last season's haul of just one goal (in all comps).
Under Rene Meulensteen, Fulham have shipped 26 goals in 10 games, more than they conceded under Martin Jol this season in 13 games (24).
Fulham have failed to score in their last two games and in three of their last five league fixtures.
There have been six Premier League meetings between Fulham and Swansea and the Welsh side have won five and lost just one.
The Swans' victory came after a run of eight games without a win, their worst-ever run in the Premier League without tasting victory.
Crystal Palace 1 Hull City 0
Hull have won only six of their previous 50 Premier League away games (D14 L30).
Jason Puncheon has scored in his last three successive home games in the Barclays Premier League.
Crystal Palace have scored at least once in five of their last six home games in the Premier League.
Since putting six past Fulham; Hull City have gone four league games without a goal.
Nikica Jelavic has failed to score in any of his 11 Premier League appearances this term.
Other than Hull, only one other team (Aston Villa) has failed to score in four successive Premier League games this season.
Palace have lost just one of their last seven home league games (W4 D2).
Hull City have managed just two wins in their last 12 away games, in all competitions.
Liverpool 4 Everton 0
Steven Gerrard scored only his seventh headed goal in the Premier League (from 104 overall).
Only versus Aston Villa (12) has Steven Gerrard scored more Premier League goals than against Everton (now 8).
The Liverpool captain is the top appearance maker (28) and top scorer (8) in Premier League Merseyside derbies.
In all competitions, Gerrard has now scored nine times against Everton (eight in the league and one in the FA Cup).
Gerrard has scored in three consecutive appearances in the Premier League. He last managed goals in four consecutive games back in December 2007.
Daniel Sturridge has scored in 12 of his 15 Premier League appearances this season (13 goals in total).
Sturridge has scored more than once in a Premier League game for the first time this season. His last league brace came against Newcastle in April.
Liverpool scored four goals in a game against Everton for the first time since the FA Cup in February 1991 (4-4).
This was the biggest victory in a Merseyside derby since November 1982 when Liverpool won 5-0.
Luis Suarez has matched his league goal total from last season in just 18 appearances (compared to 33 in 2012/13).
Suarez has scored in four of his five Premier League Merseyside derby appearances.
Liverpool have won eight and lost just one of their last 15 Premier League Merseyside derbies.
Everton have won none of the last 14 Premier League visits to Anfield, drawing seven and losing seven in that run.
Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion
Christian Benteke has scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances after going 11 Premier League games without one.
One third of Aston Villa's 12 home goals this season came in this game (4).
This was only the sixth game in Premier League history to see both teams score three or more goals before half-time.
This was the first time Villa have come from two goals behind to win a Premier League game since April 2005 (vs Southampton).
It was the first time Villa had scored three goals before half-time since April 2008 vs Derby.
Villa have come from 2-0 down in both of their games against West Brom this season.
WBA had five shots in the first half and scored three times, but had seven after the break and failed to register a goal.
Fabian Delph became the fourth Premier League player this season to score a goal and an own goal in the same game (after Bardsley, Kompany and Chester).
West Brom have now gone eight Premier League away games without a clean sheet.
Sunderland v Stoke City
Adam Johnson has scored or assisted each of Sunderland's last seven Premier League goals.
Indeed, Johnson has scored five goals in his last three Premier League appearances.
Adam Johnson has equalled his highest ever goal tally for a single Premier League season (6).
Stoke have now gone seven Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet; currently, only Fulham (8) have conceded in more consecutive matches.
Stoke have failed to score a first half Premier League goal in four of their last five games.
There have been red cards in four of the last five Barclays Premier League meetings between Sunderland and Stoke.
Stoke have failed to score in five of their six previous Premier League visits to Sunderland.
Stoke are yet to win a Premier League match at the Stadium of Light, losing four (D2).
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
Sergio Aguero scored his 50th Premier League goal in this match - in what was his 81st PL appearance.
Aguero became the fifth quickest player to reach the 50-goal landmark in the Premier League - only Andy Cole (65 games), Alan Shearer (66), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68) and Fernando Torres (72) managed to do it quicker.
Aguero has scored five goals in five Premier League appearances against Spurs.
Since he joined Manchester City on the eve of the 2010-11 season, David Silva has more assists than any other player (37) in the competition.
Manchester City have scored the first goal in 18 Premier League games this season - more often than any other side.
Yaya Toure has scored seven goals in his last nine Premier League appearances.
Edin Dzeko has now scored six goals in six appearances against Tottenham in the Premier League; more than against any other side.
The last team to score 11 goals in the same league season against Spurs was Arsenal in 1934-35. No side has ever scored more in a league season versus Spurs than City this term (11).
Man City (68) have bettered their goal tally from the whole of the 2012-13 Premier League season (66), with 15 games remaining in 2013-14.
Manchester City attempted 21 shots at goal in this match, equalling the most by an away side in a Premier League fixture this season.
Chelsea v West Ham United
West Ham have now kept 10 clean sheets this season; a joint-high with Arsenal.
Chelsea had 39 shots tonight (incl. blocked shots); the most by any team who failed to score in the PL since 2003/04.
The last team to have more than 39 shots in a single game was Manchester City, when they sealed the title in May 2012 with a dramatic victory over Queens Park Rangers (44).
West Ham made 13 blocks tonight, equalling the record for the season which they already held (also 13 against Liverpool).
West Ham only had one shot today; a joint-low by a single team in the Premier League this season (with Fulham against Sunderland on 26th October).
Chelsea have only lost one of their last 16 meetings with West Ham in the Premier League (W12 D3).
The Hammers have won none of their last eight Premier League trips to Stamford Bridge (D2 L6).
Adam Griffies (@WhatahitsonLFC) praises Philippe Coutinho‘s performance in the Merseyside derby, casting aside recent doubts about the Brazilian’s form.
A year after his arrival on Merseyside, question marks have recently been raised over Philippe Coutinho’s place in Brendan Rodgers’ starting eleven.
In some ways, the Brazilian had fallen victim to the high standard and expectation he garnered for himself with a series of glowing performances during his first six months in a red shirt. They were performances which belay the fact he was just 20 years old upon joining the club.
Each misplaced pass from the Brazilian, seemingly increasing in regularity has been greeted by growing groans around Anfield and in particular, the attacking midfielder’s profligate shooting has driven supporters to ask ‘Is he really as good as we thought?’
Last night, he responded to those murmurs, emphatically.
Derby Display
In arguably the biggest game of his career so far, he blew any question marks surrounding his recent displays away and recaptured his early-2013 form.
Deployed in a central role behind the frontline, Coutinho buzzed exuberantly around Everton’s midfield, constantly binding Reds’ attacks with intelligent movement into pockets of space and laser-like passing vision. His assist for Daniel Sturridge’s first goal illustrated this perfectly, sliding a typically well-weighted ball through for the striker to score.
That was one of four key passes he executed in the match, more than any other Liverpool player. With the air of arrogance that Brendan Rodgers spoke of wanting his players to have recently, he glided expertly about the pitch, consistently making himself available for the ball.
Coutinho’s participation in the game was underlined by statistics too, as he played the most passes (45) and had the most touches (65) of any Liverpool player on the night.
Tenacity
But, unusually, it wasn’t just in the attacking third of the pitch that Coutinho stood out. Perhaps content to vacate the midfield battle in the past, the Reds’ number 10 looked determined to impact the game and get stuck in, often dropping deep to form a central trio with Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard.
This helped us remain compact, and form an impenetrable defensive block. His incessant, almost Mascherano-like hounding of the opposition enthused me most, forcing Everton into mistakes and subsequently providing a springboard for constant, flowing counter-attacks.
The 21-year-old’s defensive contribution was highlighted by the fact he completed five tackles in the match, the second most of all 22 starting players, and comfortably more than he has managed previously. He was fired up; we were seeing another side of our Brazilian magician, a side I don’t think we have seen before.
Ironically, had Joe Allen passed a late fitness test and proved his availability, the Welshman might have started last night’s game to provide a solid midfield base in a 4-3-3 formation, putting Coutinho’s place in the side under threat. The Brazilian would have been competing with the in-form Raheem Sterling for a place in the Reds’ attack alongside the ubiquitous Suarez and Sturridge, meaning he was probably favourite to miss out.
But that’s not the point, is it? The point is, Coutinho did start, and produced his best overall performance for Liverpool to date.
The playmaker’s importance to us should not be underestimated and if he continues to play with last night’s level of fervour and dynamism for the rest of the season, the chance of us reaching our targets will increase. His assist for Sturridge’s goal was the fifth league goal he’s been involved in during this campaign, scoring two and creating three.
His numerical output is an area where he’ll be keen to improve, and our manager expects him to. “I think Coutinho will get more too,” Rodgers stated. “He will naturally get more goals but he is a wonderful player for us, he is a key who opens up many things in a game. I look at him as a [Luka] Modric type. And when you look at Modric over four years at Tottenham he got 13 goals [in the league] but his influence was massive and Coutinho is of that type.”
It’s high praise and, in my opinion, justified.
Whether or not you feel he needed to, Phillipe Coutinho was out to prove a point last night, and he certainly did that.
Adam Griffies (@WhatahitsonLFC) praises Philippe Coutinho‘s performance in the Merseyside derby, casting aside recent doubts about the Brazilian’s form.
A year after his arrival on Merseyside, question marks have recently been raised over Philippe Coutinho’s place in Brendan Rodgers’ starting eleven.
In some ways, the Brazilian had fallen victim to the high standard and expectation he garnered for himself with a series of glowing performances during his first six months in a red shirt. They were performances which belay the fact he was just 20 years old upon joining the club.
Each misplaced pass from the Brazilian, seemingly increasing in regularity has been greeted by growing groans around Anfield and in particular, the attacking midfielder’s profligate shooting has driven supporters to ask ‘Is he really as good as we thought?’
Last night, he responded to those murmurs, emphatically.
Derby Display
In arguably the biggest game of his career so far, he blew any question marks surrounding his recent displays away and recaptured his early-2013 form.
Deployed in a central role behind the frontline, Coutinho buzzed exuberantly around Everton’s midfield, constantly binding Reds’ attacks with intelligent movement into pockets of space and laser-like passing vision. His assist for Daniel Sturridge’s first goal illustrated this perfectly, sliding a typically well-weighted ball through for the striker to score.
That was one of four key passes he executed in the match, more than any other Liverpool player. With the air of arrogance that Brendan Rodgers spoke of wanting his players to have recently, he glided expertly about the pitch, consistently making himself available for the ball.
Coutinho’s participation in the game was underlined by statistics too, as he played the most passes (45) and had the most touches (65) of any Liverpool player on the night.
Tenacity
But, unusually, it wasn’t just in the attacking third of the pitch that Coutinho stood out. Perhaps content to vacate the midfield battle in the past, the Reds’ number 10 looked determined to impact the game and get stuck in, often dropping deep to form a central trio with Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard.
This helped us remain compact, and form an impenetrable defensive block. His incessant, almost Mascherano-like hounding of the opposition enthused me most, forcing Everton into mistakes and subsequently providing a springboard for constant, flowing counter-attacks.
The 21-year-old’s defensive contribution was highlighted by the fact he completed five tackles in the match, the second most of all 22 starting players, and comfortably more than he has managed previously. He was fired up; we were seeing another side of our Brazilian magician, a side I don’t think we have seen before.
Ironically, had Joe Allen passed a late fitness test and proved his availability, the Welshman might have started last night’s game to provide a solid midfield base in a 4-3-3 formation, putting Coutinho’s place in the side under threat. The Brazilian would have been competing with the in-form Raheem Sterling for a place in the Reds’ attack alongside the ubiquitous Suarez and Sturridge, meaning he was probably favourite to miss out.
But that’s not the point, is it? The point is, Coutinho did start, and produced his best overall performance for Liverpool to date.
The playmaker’s importance to us should not be underestimated and if he continues to play with last night’s level of fervour and dynamism for the rest of the season, the chance of us reaching our targets will increase. His assist for Sturridge’s goal was the fifth league goal he’s been involved in during this campaign, scoring two and creating three.
His numerical output is an area where he’ll be keen to improve, and our manager expects him to. “I think Coutinho will get more too,” Rodgers stated. “He will naturally get more goals but he is a wonderful player for us, he is a key who opens up many things in a game. I look at him as a [Luka] Modric type. And when you look at Modric over four years at Tottenham he got 13 goals [in the league] but his influence was massive and Coutinho is of that type.”
It’s high praise and, in my opinion, justified.
Whether or not you feel he needed to, Phillipe Coutinho was out to prove a point last night, and he certainly did that.
Liverpool’s FA Cup fifth Round clash away to Arsenal has been scheduled for Sunday, February 16th, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
Arsenal vs Liverpool; Sunday, 16 February 2014; 16:00 Kick-off; FA Cup 5th Round; Emirates Stadium.
The two sides were drawn against each other in the competition in Sunday’s draw after the Gunners had defeat Coventry City, and Liverpool had beaten Bournemouth in the fourth round over the weekend.
The last time the sides met in the FA Cup was back in a third round clash at Anfield in 2007. The Gunners ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a brace from Tomáš Rosický, and one from Thierry Henry. Dirk Kuyt got Liverpool’s only goal that day.
The exciting tie, which comes just a week after Arsenal visit Liverpool in the Premier League, will be broadcast live on BT Sport, and so has a 4pm kick-off time on that Sunday.
Arsene Wenger’s side have a difficult run of fixtures at the time, playing Liverpool twice, Manchester United and Bayern Munich twice in the space of a couple of weeks.
After Sunday’s draw, Brendan Rodgers revealed he was relishing the tie, concluding that you have to beat the best sides to win the FA Cup as one stage or another.
“If you’re going to get to a final, you’re going to have to beat one or two good sides along the way,” he told the club’s official website. “Arsenal are obviously a good side.
“They’ll have focus on other games as well around that period. For us, we’ve got a few important games to take on before that.
“But we’ll arrive there in the belief that we can win. That’s something that, when the time comes, our focus will be to get into the next round.”
The full FA Cup fifth round draw is as follows:
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Sheffield United/Fulham vs Nottingham Forest/Preston
Arsenal vs Liverpool
Sheffield Wednesday vs Charlton Athletic
Brighton v Hull
Everton vs Swansea City
Cardiff City v Wigan
Sunderland vs Southampton
Liverpool’s FA Cup fifth Round clash away to Arsenal has been scheduled for Sunday, February 16th, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
Arsenal vs Liverpool; Sunday, 16 February 2014; 16:00 Kick-off; FA Cup 5th Round; Emirates Stadium.
The two sides were drawn against each other in the competition in Sunday’s draw after the Gunners had defeat Coventry City, and Liverpool had beaten Bournemouth in the fourth round over the weekend.
The last time the sides met in the FA Cup was back in a third round clash at Anfield in 2007. The Gunners ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a brace from Tomáš Rosický, and one from Thierry Henry. Dirk Kuyt got Liverpool’s only goal that day.
The exciting tie, which comes just a week after Arsenal visit Liverpool in the Premier League, will be broadcast live on BT Sport, and so has a 4pm kick-off time on that Sunday.
Arsene Wenger’s side have a difficult run of fixtures at the time, playing Liverpool twice, Manchester United and Bayern Munich twice in the space of a couple of weeks.
After Sunday’s draw, Brendan Rodgers revealed he was relishing the tie, concluding that you have to beat the best sides to win the FA Cup as one stage or another.
“If you’re going to get to a final, you’re going to have to beat one or two good sides along the way,” he told the club’s official website. “Arsenal are obviously a good side.
“They’ll have focus on other games as well around that period. For us, we’ve got a few important games to take on before that.
“But we’ll arrive there in the belief that we can win. That’s something that, when the time comes, our focus will be to get into the next round.”
The full FA Cup fifth round draw is as follows:
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Sheffield United/Fulham vs Nottingham Forest/Preston
Arsenal vs Liverpool
Sheffield Wednesday vs Charlton Athletic
Brighton v Hull
Everton vs Swansea City
Cardiff City v Wigan
Sunderland vs Southampton
The most talked about topic on Twitter on Tuesday night was Liverpool’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton in the 222nd Merseyside derby at Anfield.
On an epic night for the Red half of the city, goals from Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge (2) and Luis Suarez sank Roberto Martinez’s Toffees to their worst derby defeat in over 30 years.
It could well have been more too, but for some missed chances and Sturridge missing a second-half penalty which would have completed his hat-trick.
Around the ground, the atmosphere was superb — surely the best in several years, as a renewed optimism rang around Anfield.
That optimism and spirit was echoed in tweets before, during and after the match — fans buzzing from beating the local rivals so convincingly.
We’ve rounded up 20 of the best tweets from the match, which paint a picture of how passionately Liverpool fans see this victory, which moves Brendan Rodgers‘ side four points clear of the Blues in the Premier League table.
The most talked about topic on Twitter on Tuesday night was Liverpool’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton in the 222nd Merseyside derby at Anfield.
On an epic night for the Red half of the city, goals from Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge (2) and Luis Suarez sank Roberto Martinez’s Toffees to their worst derby defeat in over 30 years.
It could well have been more too, but for some missed chances and Sturridge missing a second-half penalty which would have completed his hat-trick.
Around the ground, the atmosphere was superb — surely the best in several years, as a renewed optimism rang around Anfield.
That optimism and spirit was echoed in tweets before, during and after the match — fans buzzing from beating the local rivals so convincingly.
We’ve rounded up 20 of the best tweets from the match, which paint a picture of how passionately Liverpool fans see this victory, which moves Brendan Rodgers‘ side four points clear of the Blues in the Premier League table.
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