However, his impact has been so transformational on Liverpool's hitherto leaky backline that he became the first defender in 14 years to be crowned the Premier League players' player of the year on Sunday. Coutinho's five years at Anfield produced plenty of spectacular goals, but he did not win a trophy and Liverpool only even qualified for the Champions League twice in that time. That excellent off-field organisation has been rewarded on the pitch by a club record points tally of 91 with two Premier League games of the campaign still to go. For all the progress made, the German is yet to win a trophy since arriving at Anfield in October 2015. The pain of missing out on the Premier League once more despite a record-breaking campaign would be eased substantially if there was a Champions League final against Tottenham or Ajax to look forward to on June 1.

Source: Daily Nation April 30, 2019 00:33 UTC