Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal and Crystal Palace stars are among the 46 to better the player of the season nominee, but does it matter?
Ever since Coutinho was named on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist, social media has been littered with examples of players who have better goal and assist ratios.
Angel di Maria is one who has been more productive, yet labelled a flop due to increased expectations thanks to his £60 million price tag. Radamel Falcao, another, also has four goals and assists than the Liverpool ace.
We decided to take a look at how many Premier League players have more combined goals and assists than the Brazilian – and it turns out there are 46 in total. You can read the full list below…
| Team | Goals | Assists | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergio Agüero | Man City | 19 | 6 | 25 |
| Diego Costa | Chelsea | 19 | 3 | 22 |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham | 19 | 3 | 22 |
| Alexis Sánchez | Arsenal | 14 | 8 | 22 |
| Charlie Austin | QPR | 17 | 4 | 21 |
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 12 | 8 | 20 |
| Cesc Fàbregas | Chelsea | 3 | 16 | 19 |
| Olivier Giroud | Arsenal | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Wayne Rooney | Man Utd | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| David Silva | Man City | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| Gylfi Sigurdsson | Swansea | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Raheem Sterling | Liverpool | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Saido Berahino | West Brom | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| Nacer Chadli | Tottenham | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Ángel Di María | Man Utd | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| Stewart Downing | West Ham | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Danny Ings | Burnley | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| Oscar | Chelsea | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Christian Benteke | Aston Villa | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Wilfried Bony | Swansea / Man City | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Papiss Demba Cissé | Newcastle | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Juan Mata | Man Utd | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Diafra Sakho | West Ham | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Robin van Persie | Man Utd | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Christian Eriksen | Tottenham | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Graziano Pellè | Southampton | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Jason Puncheon | C. Palace | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| Dusan Tadic | Southampton | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| Jonathan Walters | Stoke | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Leighton Baines | Everton | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Yannick Bolasie | C. Palace | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Mame Biram Diouf | Stoke | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Aaron Ramsey | Arsenal | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Peter Crouch | Stoke | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Ander Herrera | Man Utd | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Nikica Jelavic | Hull City | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| James Milner | Man City | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Glenn Murray | C. Palace | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Matthew Phillips | QPR | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Leonardo Ulloa | Leicester | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Yaya Touré | Man City | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Mesut Özil | Arsenal | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Falcao | Man Utd | 4 | 4 | 8 |
So what does it tell us?
None of this is to poke fun at Coutinho. He is the winner here. He was voted by his peers as one of the six best players in the league this season.
The fact he has achieved this without relying on sheer numbers is a compliment in itself. It shows he has made an impact, not just in front of goals, but bedazzling opponents with his performances and making himself difficult to pick up and play against.
The likes of Nacer Chadli and Stewart Downing are above him, but have been especially inconsistent and seen their form dip in 2015, while Coutinho has got better as the season has progressed. Is Coutinho the 46th best player in the league? Certainly not.
Coutinho may be an outsider for the award, but a big performance at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final this weekend can underline his importance to the Liverpool side and show everybody how deserving he is of his inclusion on the PFA shortlist.
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