Kop miss Coutinho

MICHAEL OWEN believes Liverpool miss Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho despite reaching the Champions League final.

It looked a major setback for Jurgen Klopp’s team when Coutinho joined Barcelona for £145million in January but, while they have coped well without him in the bigger games in Europe and domestically, they have been held to 12 draws in the Premier League and for all their goals have sometimes struggled to unlock massed defences.

Owen believes they need someone like Coutinho if they are to end the club’s long wait to bring the league title back to Anfield next season.

“A lot of people have pointed out that Coutinho has hardly been mentioned since he left,” said Owen. “But I would suggest that he is missed in certain games.

“Against the big teams, the ones who back themselves and have no other way of playing apart from being confident in their own ability, then that just plays into Liverpool’s hands, with the speed and agility they have, where they win the ball and counter attack. Liverpool are brilliant against the big teams.

“But the reason Liverpool haven’t won the league is not because of their form against the big teams, it is against the other teams. Prising open a defence that sits back.

“That bit of guile to open a packed defence, teams that aren’t coming out to go toe-to-toe with you. That’s where they’ve struggled and need to improve to topple Man City. They need to find a way of opening up packed defences.”

RICHARD TANNER