Philippe Coutinho made an instant impact on his Anfield debut with a second half strike in Liverpool’s 5-0 rout of a lacklustre Swansea City side.
Coutinho made his first start playing on the left wing alongside fellow Brazilian Lucas Leiva as Liverpool dominated proceedings against a makeshift Swansea City side with one eye on the Capital One Cup final next week.
Liverpool created a host of chances and finally found their breakthrough on the half hour mark. A Steven Gerrard penalty gave the Reds the lead after Remy Agustien was adjudged to have brought down Luis Suárez.
Coutinho burst into life in the second half as Liverpool took the lead just seconds after the restart, the Brazilian latching onto Suarez’s pass and lashing a strike past Michel Vorm in goal which took a deflection off the keeper.
Jose Enrique added a third after some excellent passing on the wing, the left back poking home Daniel Sturridge’s cross.
Coutinho left the pitch to a well deserved round of applause from fans after being substituted on the hour mark for Jordan Henderson.
Suárez then turned goalscorer as the Uruguayan found space in the middle of Swansea’s half, tearing past two defenders and curling a sublime finish past Vorm.
Sturridge finally got the goal he craved after converting a penalty for Liverpool’s fifth of the afternoon after Wayne Routledge was penalised for a handball.
