7 great stats that prove Coutinho’s incredible impact at Aston Villa
Philippe Coutinho endured a nightmare spell at Barcelona but there’s been increasing signs in recent weeks that he’s rediscovering his mojo on loan at Aston Villa.
With three goals and three assists since his January move, it’s no surprise that Villa boss Steven Gerrard has expressed an interest in signing Coutinho on a permanent basis.
“Phil was successful at Barcelona but he had difficult periods as well,” said Gerrard. “He got to the stage where he needed a change of scenery and a different movie.
“We want to be that movie for him because if we want to get to where we want to be, we need to build it around talents like Phil, because at his best he is a high-level player.
“All good teams have game-changers who the opposition are really concerned about before a ball is kicked. Phil has that status and he is giving belief to his team-mates.”
With Barcelona seemingly turning a corner under Xavi and Coutinho thriving in the Premier League, perhaps a parting of the ways in the summer would suit all parties.
But Coutinho’s recent form would have reminded many of his immense quality as a midfield schemer.
We’ve collected seven amazing stats that underline his influence since reuniting with Gerrard at the start of 2022.
– Coutinho didn’t manage a goal or assist in any of his seven Premier League appearances against Manchester United while playing for Liverpool (480 minutes) but netted Villa’s equaliser just 14 minutes into his debut for the club. Talk about a dream introduction…
– Only three players have scored 3+ goals and provided 3+ assists in the Premier League so far in 2022: Bruno Fernandes, Son Heung-min and Coutinho.
– This means that he already has more Premier League goal contributions this season than he managed in La Liga for Barca last year.
– His last performance against Southampton was the most dominant. Coutinho scored highest for touches in the opponent’s box (six), for chances created (two) and registered the equal highest amount of shots on target (two) – one of which he scored from.
– Coutinho came fourth in WhoScored’s ranking of January signings, with only Luis Diaz and Newcastle pair Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett finishing above him.
🆕 Top Premier League January Signings
1⃣ Luis Diaz – 7.99
2⃣ Kieran Trippier – 7.87
3⃣ Matt Targett – 7.16
4⃣ Philippe Coutinho – 7.13
5⃣ Wout Weghorst – 7.06
6⃣ Dan Burn – 7.06
7⃣ Hassane Kamara – 7.04
8⃣ Dejan Kulusevski – 7.01
9⃣ Chris Wood – 7.01
🔟 Lucas Digne – 6.89— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 1, 2022
– All six of Coutinho’s goals and assists for Villa have come at Villa Park. It would seem as if the Brazil international has found a welcoming home at last.
– Here’s one that will interest Villa fans – Coutinho has registered more goals and assists than Jack Grealish this campaign. Nobody would have expected to read that particular stat last summer…
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