Liverpool have lost Philippe Coutinho but gained a more balanced midfield

Losing the Brazilian has forced Klopp to rethink his set-up in the middle of the park but that is not necessarily a bad thing, as the rout in Porto proved

Jurgen Klopp may have stumbled on a more balanced midfield having lost Philippe Coutinho (Getty)

Liverpool supporters have a lot to be happy about this Thursday morning. It is not often that a Champions League knockout tie billed as a close-run thing is all but decided after the first leg.

As if the five unanswered goals that emptied the Estadio do Dragao were not welcome enough, three of them were scored by a player in need of a confidence boost. Sadio Mané began to look himself again at some point between his fortunate first and his emphatic third. With Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah already in imperious form, that can only be good news.

Yet what should please the travelling Kop more than anything else is the manner of the victory and the control that Liverpool enjoyed from the moment they broke the deadlock to the final whistle. Though Porto pressed in the initial stages, Jürgen Klopp’s players never looked like losing the lead once they had snatched it. That, considering this team’s recent history, is significant.

Supporters need only to look back to their last European trip to see how quickly this team can collapse. Memories of November’s surrender against Sevilla have not faded. “It’s not that we forgot that. You always have it a little bit,” Klopp admitted in his post-match press conference, when the most frustrating night of Liverpool’s season so far was referenced. “It’s part of our history unfortunately.”

Thankfully, there would be no repeat of that collapse in Porto. Instead there was ‘game management’, that intangible but discernable quality that has rarely been seen during Klopp’s time in charge. Counter-attacks were not launched at every opportunity but executed clinically. Defenders took risks but only when necessary. The priority of every player bar Firmino, Mané and Salah was to protect the lead, its extension could come later. Liverpool looked, in a word, balanced.

This perhaps had something to do with their manager’s selection in the centre of the park. Club captain Jordan Henderson and the excellent James Milner returned to the starting line-up, playing in a midfield three alongside the always-industrious Georginio Wijnaldum. The guile of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana was kept in reserve and with Emre Can suspended, this was the sturdiest, most combative midfield make-up Klopp could name. It worked a treat.

The trio mixed a perfect cocktail of caution and adventure, laying the foundation for Liverpool's frontline to excel while simultaneously cutting off Porto's attacks. After some joy for the hosts in the opening 20 minutes, Liverpool won the midfield battle decisively. Milner's performance in particular invited many superlatives and it deserved every one of them, but as the level-headed Yorkshireman would be the first to insist, this disciplined display was more about the collective than any individual.

After the final whistle sounded on an emphatic victory, aided by the three outstanding central midfield performances, there was an interesting if obvious question to answer: if he were still a Liverpool player, where would Philippe Coutinho have played? And if the answer to that question is still in the centre of midfield, most likely in place of Milner, would the same sturdiness have been on show?

It is wrong to assume that Coutinho’s supreme technical abilities mean he would not have contributed to the defensive side of Liverpool’s play. He was regularly hailed as an adept ‘counter-presser’ by Klopp during his time at Anfield and was more prone to acts of self-sacrifice than you might expect from a player with one eye on the exit.

Yet the fact remains that the ‘Fab Four’ did not go into a front three and if Coutinho was fit, he had to be accommodated. That meant that something always had to be sacrificed elsewhere and that something was usually a bit of midfield stability.

Sometimes, especially against less ambitious opponents, the Brazilian’s invention in the engine room won football matches - like in the pivotal victory away to West Ham United at the tail end of last season. More than anything, Liverpool will miss his ability to end a stubborn side's resistance with a stunner from 30 yards or some other ingenious moment of sublime skill.

There were others times though, like during the second half in Seville, when a more conservative presence was required. Coutinho was far from the sole cause of such collapses – to suggest as much would be extremely blinkered – but his departure has at least forced Klopp to rethink a midfield that often left its fragile defence and uncertain goalkeeper exposed.

Without their £142m playmaker to call upon, Liverpool have been able to field a more belligerent, bruising set-up in the middle of the park, one that offers more defensive protection but still complements their devastating forward play.

In Porto, this new midfield composition showed great promise and given time, it is a set-up that could help to correct the defensive problems that have blighted Klopp’s tenure. It may prove to be particularly useful against fellow top sides and when Liverpool are required to do that most un-Liverpool of things and protect a slender lead.

These are still early days, but Wednesday night offered another taste of this team’s post-Coutinho future and despite the gloomy predictions, there was again much to be positive about.