Liverpool’s league campaign was off to flying start with their win against Arsenal. Philippe Coutinho was undoubtedly the star of the show at the Emirates. Two amazing goals and a fantastic touch to create another one was too much for the Arsène Wenger’s inexperienced back-line to handle.

But the Burnley game turned out to be a disappointment for Jürgen Klopp’s men. Coutinho went missing as he does on occasions and Liverpool paid the price for it.

There is little doubt that Liverpool’s hopes of succeeding this season would be heavily reliant on Coutinho’s form. The scousers would be expecting more consistency from the little magician over the course of the campaign.

Performances against Arsenal and Burnley

Against Arsenal, Liverpool were losing the battle in midfield in the first half and there was no attacking creativity from the Reds. A wonder strike from Philippe Coutinho from more than 30 yards turned out to be the game changer. Most parts of the second half were all about Coutinho’s brilliance.

His understanding with fellow Brazilian, Roberto Firmino and new signings Sadio Mané and Gini Wijnaldum made a mockery of Arsenal. Coutinho’s touch and vision was genius during the second half. Almost every Liverpool attack went through him.

The Burnley game, on the contrary was a very frustrating one. He over-hit passes and kept shooting from distance. After his stellar showing at the Emirates, the fans would have expected more impact from him at Turf Moor.

Importance to Liverpool

Over the last couple of years, Liverpool’s performances have almost always been proportional to the little magician’s form. Liverpool’s best league games last season, Manchester City (home and away), Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa were down to Coutinho’s genius.

The first two games showed how heavily they rely on Coutinho. Klopp would be hoping that the Burnley game is a one-off. But recent history doesn’t suggest so. He is known to go missing in games where he is needed the most. This is something he needs to improve at if he wants to hit top gear in his career.

Consistency is the key

There is no doubt that ability wise there are very few in the league who are better than Coutinho. It’s his consistency that disappoints. He is unplayable for some periods of the season, but just vanishes for parts of it.

The Europa League final last season is an example of Coutinho being totally out of the game when he was needed the most.

Coutinho turned 24 this summer. For an attacking player, this is the age around which you’re supposed to get consistency into your game. He can no longer be awarded the luxury of escaping critiques just because he is a top talent. The Brazilian needs to back that talent with some consistent displays in 2016/17.

Time to step-up

For a player of Coutinho’s caliber, he needs to be involved more in the games. Despite having signed good attacking players this season, Coutinho remains the go-to-man for Jürgen Klopp this season.

Marco Reus, who played a similar role to Coutinho for Klopp at Borussia Dortmund got 53 goals in 116 games. Although his finishing has improved significantly in the last two years, the Brazilian needs to get closer to these numbers.

Despite having dominated the end-of-season Liverpool awards, he hasn’t reached the levels that the likes of Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard did at his age.

Target for 2016/17

A big season awaits Liverpool. Klopp’s hopes of getting the club back into the Champions League depend highly on how Philippe Coutinho can perform this season. Liverpool have a top striker in Sturridge, a midfield powerhouse in Emre Can and a pacey outlet in Sadio Mané. But it’s Coutinho who holds the key for the Reds.

A target of 15 goals and 15 assists should be achievable this season. If Coutinho can resume playing the way he did at the Emirates, Liverpool are guaranteed to have a successful campaign in 2016/17.

The stage is set for the little magician to spring into life this season. Hopefully a campaign full of jaw-dropping Coutinho moments awaits us.

Image Courtesy: Goal