Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
James Pearce

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have done far better without Philippe Coutinho than he imagined

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have surpassed his wildest expectations since they sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

The Reds will be reunited with the Brazilian attacker in Wednesday night's Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp.

Coutinho , who scored 54 goals in 201 appearances for the club, joined the Catalan giants in a £142million deal in January 2018 after Klopp had to admit defeat in his battle to convince him to remain at Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho 'made right decision' leaving Liverpool for Barcelona says ex-Reds star  

However, rather than be hampered by the loss of Coutinho, Liverpool have kicked on impressively – reaching the last four of the Champions League for the second successive season and mounting a thrilling challenge for the Premier League title.

The Reds reinvested the funds wisely with the fee for Coutinho effectively paying for the signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker .

Barcelona boss reacts to Jurgen Klopp's stadium comments and fires Luis Suarez warning to Liverpool  

“I will be happy to see Phil again as it's been a while since I saw him,” Klopp said.

“We miss Phil a lot because he's a world class player. I loved working together with him but we've had to deal without him and we've done well.

Liverpool warned over Lionel Messi declaration ahead of Champions League showdown against Barcelona  

“That's all I can say about that. He's a really good player. When I first heard he wanted to go to Barcelona, I couldn't imagine that we would do this well without him but we did and it's all good.”

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde must decide between starting Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele in a three-pronged attack alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez .

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.