Gerrard: Coutinho has lifted everyone

STEVEN GERRARD expects Philippe Coutinho to bring the best out of record signing Emiliano Buendia as the Brazilian eyes his first start for the club at Everton on Saturday. Coutinho began his Villa career in the perfect way after joining the club on loan from Barcelona, scoring the equaliser against Manchester United after creating the opener for Jacob Ramsey. Gerrard was desperate to bring his former Liverpool team-mate back to the Premier League and the 29-year-old’s eye-catching cameo appeared to justify his confidence. ‘Phil has lifted Emiliano Buendia, for sure,’ said Gerrard. ‘He has lifted Carney Chukwuemeka, Jacob Ramsey and everyone else around the dressing room which is great. ‘We want as many good players here as possible, we want players who can play together. Coutinho and Buendia have been shining together in training and they get on well.’ Buendia arrived from Norwich last summer in a deal that could rise to £40million. He wears the No10 shirt that used to belong to Jack Grealish before his £100m move to Manchester City and there have been times when the responsibility seems to have weighed heavily on the Argentine. Yet Buendia responded to the signing of Coutinho (right) with one of his best displays for the club and Gerrard insists he has a bright future at Villa Park. ‘We haven’t brought anyone in to replace Buendia,’ he said. ‘He is a big player for us and he is going to contribute a lot. He was my man of the match. ‘We’ve spoken to him about certain situations but I really loved his performance. He epitomised everything I want the team to stand for. ‘He was competing for headers, he was sliding and won everything he could out of possession. He gave his all, he was getting kicked and some of his football was terrific.’