The biggest news in England for the whole of last week was the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as the Liverpool manager.
Two games into his reign, the German is still without a victory as both his games ended in draws. Liverpool owners and the fans are ready to give their new manager some time and have not let the two results dampen their hopes as there were plenty of positives to be taken from the games.
However, the brightest player for the Reds in the previous season has failed to have any impact in both the games and has looked like a liability up front in Klopp’s team. Coutinho who opened this season with a contender for the goal of the season at Stoke has not scored a goal ever since and has not really been able to weave his magic in the recent games.
Jurgen Klopp prefers to play a high-intensity game with players who are ready to set their teammates on runs that open the opposition defenses. Adam Lallana has been the perfect player so far this season for Klopp as the Englishman has been tireless in his work and has most of the qualities required by the manager.
Coutinho, on the other hand, needs time on the ball and likes beating players before unleashing a shot or a cute pass. This has almost no place in Klopp’s style which relies on quick and accurate football. At Dortmund, Lewandowski was a successful striker as he had players like Gotze and Reus feeding into his runs time and time again.
But for the Reds Coutinho has not really been able to find his strikers in space and has too often chosen the wrong option. Make no mistake, Coutinho is still Liverpool’s best player technically, but is not the kind of player that Klopp thrives on. However, he is one of the important parts of the team and needs to learn to play the Klopp way if he wants to stay in the club for a long time.
With Klopp hinting that he wants to play both Sturridge and Benteke up front when the duo is fit, the Brazilian may not find a place in the midfield. Klopp is likely to use a 4-3-1-2 formation which leaves only one position behind the two strikers and going, by the way, the two games went, Lallana will get the nod ahead of Coutinho. This will leave Coutinho with a place on the bench and he will have 30 minutes every game to spread his magic on the field.
Another way of giving Coutinho a chance in the middle is playing a 4-2-2-2 formation, but this is something Klopp does not prefer as it does not give his side the width that is needed to counter. Coutinho will no doubt have to work hard and prove himself to stay in the team for a long time and with the Barcelona and Madrid rumor’s calming down, Coutinho will want to seal his place in the Red’s attacking midfield and provide some inspirational performances for his club.
Klopp is renowned for being a sound tactically and he will be aware of the match winning ability that the Brazilian possesses. He will have to find a way to play him, Lallana and two strikers if that is what it takes for the Red’s to start scoring freely. Leave your opinion on the dilemma that the new German manager faces at Liverpool.