Philippe Coutinho Is Liverpool's Best Player, but They Will Cope Without Him
There are few things in football more despairing for fans than the sight of a world-class player writhing in pain. It's easy to tell when an injury is serious. It's in the eyes. There's an anguished look that reveals the true extent of the damage before any doctor can diagnose it. Philippe Coutinho had that look on Saturday.
The Liverpool playmaker left the field on a stretcher just 34 minutes into the 2-0 win over Sunderland after a challenge by Didier Ndong that saw the Brazilian's right ankle take the full force. Coutinho underwent tests on the injury on Monday, but it's expected that he will be ruled out of action until the new year at the earliest.
"Phil has his scans this afternoon," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed to reporters on Monday, as per Danny Gallagher of the MailOnline. "What I can say is that it's too long because the best thing is that he's not out. We have to take it how it is." The German put on a brave face, but he must surely be concerned about facing such a crucial part of the season without a player of such quality.
Losing Coutinho for the packed winter schedule over the next two months is a blow to Liverpool. There's a case to be made that the Brazilian has been the outstanding performer in the Premier League this season, leading the Reds in what is an unexpected but undeniably genuine and sustained title challenge.
They will miss him; they would rather he was available, but they will cope without him. Saturday's win over Sunderland demonstrated that.
Coutinho is Liverpool's best player. If there's someone within their ranks who is good enough to one day lift a Ballon d'Or or be considered among Europe's best, it is the 24-year-old.He has already been linked with a move to La Liga champions Barcelona this season, as per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror.
He is the face of Klopp's team. But, in a sense, he is dispensable.
"Phil, as good as he is, cannot decide games on his own even if it looks like that at times," Klopp said, as per Andy Hunter of the Guardian. "He dribbles, he shoots and he is important but it is really a team performance that we have created. He's a very important part of that but, of course, we can handle it. It's not the best thing I can imagine or dream about, to show that we can play without Phil, but we have to show it and we will show it."
Indeed, when it comes to the structural integrity of Liverpool as a team, Coutinho is somewhat peripheral. Yes, he is their playmaker. He creates many of their chances in the final third, with much of Liverpool's attacking play flowing through him. But at least Klopp can make one or two tactical tweaks and compensate for the loss of the Brazilian. He can't do the same with a number of other players.
Take Sadio Mane, for instance. The £34 million signing from Southampton has quickly become the most strategically significant player at Anfield. While Liverpool are primarily a possession-based outfit who excel with the ball at their feet in and around the opposition penalty area, Mane offers them something different. An alternative dimension.
He stretches the pitch for Liverpool in a way no other player does. That creates space for others, like Coutinho, to make the most of. Mane's contribution often goes unnoticed, but he deserves as much credit as anyone for the impressive start to the season the Reds have enjoyed. Without him, their entire identity as a team would be compromised. It's not the same with Coutinho.
Adam Lallana would also, and has been, a more impactful absentee. Of course, he has had injury struggles this season, with Klopp also confirming on Monday that the midfielder is aiming to make a return to the team for the match against Bournemouth on Sunday.
Liverpool have already suffered for his groin injury, highlighted by the goalless draw against Southampton that somewhat stemmed the momentum they had built up until that point. Lallana is the one who drives the play forward, acting as a link between the midfield and attack better than anyone else. He fills the space, wherever it may be, that Mane creates for others.
Even Jordan Henderson, who is still flawed as a player, can claim to be more important to Liverpool as a team and their structure as a unit than Coutinho. Without his energy and dynamism in central midfield, their pressing game and intensity would suffer. Henderson still has progress to make in terms of his distribution of the ball among other things, but he is crucial to the way Liverpool play under Klopp.
Coutinho, for all his shimmering quality and match-winning ability, is allowed to thrive because of the circumstances that are created for him by others, by Klopp's system. That's not to say he doesn't deserve credit. Just because the environment is right for him doesn't mean he is certain to excel. He has done that himself.
In his absence, Klopp could now switch to a 4-4-2 system, with Daniel Sturridge used as an orthodox No. 9 and Roberto Firmino playing alongside him. He could move Georginio Wijnaldum into a more advanced position, essentially using him as a direct replacement for Coutinho. That would at least preserve the structure Klopp has imposed on his team this season.
He could also move to something of a 4-5-1 shape, using runners like Lallana and Mane to bridge the gap between the midfield and attack. It would be a fluid, interchangeable system, but that's the kind of system Klopp devises best.
Liverpool are better equipped to deal with such an injury blow than in seasons gone by. Take the 2013/14 season, for instance, when Brendan Rodgers' side came within a game or two of winning the title. Luis Suarez was their defining talent that season. Without him, their challenge would have fallen apart. Now, however, Liverpool's title prospects are not reliant on one player. That will be underlined by how well they are equipped to cope without Coutinho.
The next two months or so will prove whether Liverpool are the real deal or not. There were always likely to be bumps along the way, things to test their resolve and hinder their title charge. It's how they deal with those challenges that will define their season.
Coutinho's injury, regardless of how long it lasts for and how the Reds deal with it, will give the clearest indication yet as to whether they are ready to win their first league title in 27 years.
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