Philippe Coutinho has warned his Barcelona team-mates they cannot focus all their defensive efforts on keeping Liverpool’s front three quiet.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have scored 65 goals between them this season and bring their talents to the Nou Camp on Wednesday night for the first leg of Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.
Coutinho, who plays Liverpool for the first time since leaving just over a year ago, insisted the Reds were much more than just their forward line.
‘They are important players, but it’s not just those three,’ he told the Barcelona website.
‘There are the defenders, the midfielders who are all quality players and work hard to create goals for them.
‘We will have to be aware of the whole team and do our job as we have been doing recently, keep our shape on the field and put in a good performance.’
‘I spent five years at Liverpool and I was very happy there, but now I am wearing a different shirt, different colours, so it’s going to be a special game and I hope we can do our best,’ he added.
‘They are a great team and strong mentally. I’ve been watching them this season and they are excellent going forward and in defence so we will have to be alert.’
Coutinho left Liverpool to sign for Barcelona in a £142million deal in January 2018, but has struggled to replicate the form he showed at Liverpool in Spain.
Barcelona, however, are favourites to reach the final and prepared for the game with a 1-0 win over Levante.
The result secured Barcelona the La Liga title and saw Lionel Messi start on the bench before coming on to score the winner.
