Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling have been earmarked as players who can potentially take the burden off Liverpool’s strikeforce, who are currently scoring at will.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers would like other members of the team to chip in with goals this season and earmarked Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling as the two men who could add to Liverpool’s already impressive goal tally in the league so far this season.
The Liverpool boss is quoted saying: ‘When you play in those attacking positions it’s your job to create and score goals. A player with their quality will say they want more goals and obviously I will demand more goals from them.’
| Player | Team | Pos | Goals | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Suárez | Liverpool | FW | 22 | 16 | 1,438 |
| Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool | FW | 10 | 13 | 1,009 |
| Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | MF | 4 | 17 | 1,407 |
| Raheem Sterling | Liverpool | MF | 3 | 16 | 968 |
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | MF | 2 | 16 | 1,227 |
| Martin Skrtel | Liverpool | DF | 2 | 19 | 1,692 |
| Daniel Agger | Liverpool | DF | 1 | 11 | 807 |
| Jon Flanagan | Liverpool | DF | 1 | 7 | 562 |
| Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | MF | 1 | 21 | 1,869 |
| Victor Moses | Liverpool | MF | 1 | 13 | 589 |
| Mamadou Sakho | Liverpool | DF | 1 | 12 | 1,029 |
The table above shows that there is a significant gulf between Suarez and the rest – though to be fair on Daniel Sturridge he has had a sustained period on the sidelines and would probably be vying for the golden boot with the Uruguayan had he stayed fit.
One aspect that Rodgers may be pleased with are his defenders and their contribution. Combined they have five goals between them and will they will be looking to get into double figures as a unit before the end of the season which would signal a healthy contribution.
Jordan Henderson may want more goals to his name, having scored on five occasions last season in 30 appearances, one goal from 21 this term is a record he would look to improve on as he is a player that has looked to get into the penalty area quite a lot this season.
It’s no surprise that Rodgers has highlighted Sterling and Coutinho. Sterling can be pretty pleased with his return ever since he’s played from the start a lot more regularly since December whereas Coutinho could do with finding a bit more confidence in front of goal to make his return look a little better.
Players who have yet to register this season, notably Joe Allen will be asked to get in amongst goals by the Liverpool manager when he returns to the side as well.
The two main strikers getting the Lions’ share of the goals is no surprise but with nearly 63% coming from Suarez or Sturridge, it’s understandable Rodgers wants others to play their part – because they can have an off day.
image: © Dean Jones
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