Philippe Coutinho believes the attacking link-up play between himself and his Liverpool teammates will improve the more they train together.
The 23-year-old has been in goalscoring form in recent weeks, scoring two against Chelsea and once against Crystal Palace in his last couple of outings.
There are still signs that the slickness of Liverpool’s play is lacking in the final third; something Coutinho feels will improve drastically the more his teammates train together under Jurgen Klopp.
“I have to adapt to them, but it’s not only me who must do this,” he told the official Liverpool FC magazine.
“When you get new players, especially strikers, it is the job of all of the team to give them the service they need.
“I have to learn whether it is right to play a fast ball or a pass along the ground, depending on who I am playing the ball to.
“The training sessions are very, very important for this adaptation process to happen. We work on this every day in training and the sessions are very intense.
“If we’re not doing it right, or something isn’t working, we do it again and again until we get it right. The more you train with your teammates, the more you learn about each other and this is important for the team to do well.”
Coutinho also spoke about the work Klopp expects his players to do off the ball, adding that it will only work if every player is pulling in the same direction.
“He asks for us to play with as much freedom as possible when we have the ball, but when we lose it we are asked to recover it as quickly as possible,” he continued.
“We press very high with the intention of trying to make the other team lose the ball close to their goal. If we do it right, and win the ball back in these areas, it gives us a better chance to score.
“The most important thing is that it is imperative for the team to press together. This is what we have been trying to do and this is how we are developing as a team.”
Coutinho will remain in Liverpool during the international break, having not made Brazil’s squad for their upcoming matches.
His compatriot Roberto Firmino is in the same boat, which could give the Brazilian duo the perfect opportunity to work together on their on-pitch relationship.
They are two of Liverpool’s most important attacking players, and the quicker they can get in-tune with each others games, the better.
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