Probably my favourite stat from 2012/13 was the following:
In eleven of his twelve Liverpool starts, Philippe Coutinho either scored a goal or created a clear-cut chance
A remarkable level of performance from a twenty year old taking his first steps in English football. But a closer look at the stats (via EPLIndex) reveals one area of concern regarding Coutinho’s performances to date.
Back in February, I wrote an article that looked at how Liverpool’s creativity level had increased once Daniel Sturridge had started playing for them (and you can read it here). Now that Philipe Coutinho has his feet firmly under the Anfield table, the figures show that the Reds have kicked on again in creative terms.
Not only that, but the twenty year old Brazilian from Inter Milan is also outperforming the Premier League’s great-and-good with regards to the creation of clear-cut goalscoring opportunities on an individual level.
Liverpool have today completed the signing of Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan. The 20 year old becomes Brendan Rodgers’ second January signing, but what do the stats tell us about him?
Due to his fairly limited experience (he has played the equivalent of 39 matches in Serie A, La Liga and European tournaments) there aren’t too many stats to draw on, but I’ve dug out what I can from Whoscored and transfermarkt to try to establish what the young Brazilian’s strengths are.
Bass Tuned To Red 