Steven Gerrard makes Philippe Coutinho injury joke after Aston Villa star’s masterclass

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Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has lauded Philippe Coutinho’s ‘world-class’ performance in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Southampton and joked that his former team-mate’s quality ended his Liverpool career early. The hosts romped to victory at Villa Park as Coutinho continued his tremendous impact since joining on loan from Barcelona in January.

Villa recorded back-to-back Premier League wins as Ollie Watkins opened the scoring after just nine minutes.

Coutinho made his first contribution on the brink of half-time, providing Douglas Luiz with a sumptuous assist to double the Villains’ lead.

The 29-year-old midfielder then added a goal of his own in the 52nd-minute, his sixth involvement in seven games since returning to England.

Danny Ings enjoyed an excellent afternoon himself, adding a goal to his two assists against his former club just moments later.

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After full-time, Gerrard suggested Coutinho showcased the very best he has to offer against the Saints, joking his exact same form at Liverpool ended his career early.

He told reporters: “We’ve got Phil [Coutinho] back fit and in a really good place – he was back to his Liverpool form today, and he was a touch above.

“The other players have got a lift from him. It is about having players running in behind for him, and Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings were untouchable at times today too.

“When Phil is in the mood, he is a world-class player. He probably finished my career a couple of years early; he’s the reason I’ve got screws in my knees and groins!”

Coutinho’s attacking team-mate Watkins also showered him with praise in the aftermath.

“Sometimes he thinks too quickly for you, so I have to go off his body movement and sometimes I’ve gone the opposite way,” Watkins explained.

“He’s too sharp – he thinks quicker than anyone else. I can’t speak highly enough about him, to be honest.

“It’s a joy to play with him and Ingsy, and hopefully, we can do this more often to teams.

“We’ve had a bit of a sticky spell, but we’ve got to find some consistency and be hard to beat.

“We’ve got a lot of good technical players, so it is about doing the ugly side.”

On the back of his latest dazzling display, Villa and Gerrard will be growing increasingly keen to transition his loan deal into a permanent one.

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