Philippe Coutinho starred in Liverpool’s 4-0 rout of Wigan Athletic after a hat-trick by Luis Suárez helped secure the three points at the DW Stadium.
Coutinho notched two assists for the Reds as an early Stewart Downing strike and a Luis Suárez hat-trick secured all three points for Liverpool.
The Brazilian had a superb performance from the first minute as he jinked his way into the Wigan penalty area and lofting a cross for Downing to glance into the net for the first goal.
Coutinho was at it again for Liverpool’s second as he slotted in Suárez who coolly slotted past a stranded Al-Habsi.
Suárez then doubled his tally for the night with a deflected free-kick that took a nick off Shaun Maloney which took it past Al-Habsi and in off the post.
Despite the scoreline, Wigan still posed a threat and it took two superb saves from Pepe Reina to deny Emmerson Boyce and Franco Di Santo on two occasions.
After the break, Liverpool quickly added another goal as Suárez completed his hat-trick after a superb solo run by Glen Johnson.
Coutinho was eventually subbed for Jordan Henderson, leaving to a standing ovation from the travelling away support.
Lucas Leiva also started in midfield, but the former Grêmio man picked up a booking for persistent fouling in a poor individual performance.
