Jamie Carragher blasted Aston Villa attacker Philippe Coutinho after another below-par outing against Nottingham Forest on Monday night, labelling him a "million miles off it".
The former Liverpool forward was substituted by Steven Gerrard shortly after the hour-mark in the 1-1 draw at the City Ground, making it ten appearances this season in which he has failed to score or register an assist.
His all-round performances have been way below what many expected too, shedding light on why he’s managed a full 90 minutes in just one of those ten outings this season.
Coutinho’s form is in stark contrast to how he started life with the midlands club, scoring impressive goals against Manchester United and Leeds while putting in an array of top displays that ultimately persuaded Villa to part with £17million to make his move permanent from Barcelona over the summer.
Now though, he’s a figure of hefty criticism among the Aston Villa fanbase who are growing frustrated with his innocuous displays. And after Monday night’s game, Coutinho's former teammate Carragher weighed in on the subject and didn’t hold back in his assessment.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, he said: “He's a shadow of a player we know he is because it did not go well at Barcelona, but he is a million miles off it. He has been the one attacking player Steven has bought.”
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The Brazilian's decline can be captured in his underlying numbers too. In each of his last ten seasons playing in one of Europe’s big five leagues, Coutinho has comfortably averaged over one shot on target per 90. This season though his average has fallen to just 0.89. He’s also averaged only 1.07 key passes per 90 so far this season, last term at Villa that average was 1.69 while in his first season at Liverpool it was as high as 3.33.
Interestingly, Coutinho is averaging slightly more touches per 90 this season than the last (58.8 v 55.7), yet it’s what he’s offering on the ball, which isn’t very much, that’s been the biggest problem.
Following Monday night's draw, the pressure continues to mount on Gerrard as he and his side were booed off of the pitch by the travelling Villa contingent. Villa can actually boast going unbeaten in four successive Premier League matches, yet three draws plus the drab nature of their displays during that run means the former Rangers manager now has a fight on his hands to stay in a job.
Things won’t get any easier this weekend either as Villa welcome a revitalised Chelsea side on Sunday afternoon. The Blues are unbeaten under new manager Graham Potter and have won four of their last five visits to Villa Park. It’s possible Gerrard will look to shake up his team in a bid to reinvigorate his attack for that clash, and if he does, Coutinho will surely be one of those set to miss out.
