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Philippe Coutinho: 'Lucas Leiva integral to Liverpool'

:Headline: Philippe Coutinho: 'Lucas Leiva integral to Liverpool': ID:75752: from db_amp
Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho reveals that compatriot Lucas Leiva played a big part in his decision to join the club in January.

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has revealed that he spoke to fellow Brazilian Lucas Leiva a lot before deciding to join the club in January.

Coutinho, who has made a strong start to life at Anfield, grabbing two goals and two assists in his first five appearances for the club, explained that talks with Lucas and manager Brendan Rodgers convinced him to make the move.

The 20-year-old also recalled memories of watching Liverpool's historic Champions League win in 2005, during which they came back from 3-0 down at half time to beat AC Milan on penalties.

"Growing up in Brazil I knew all about Liverpool. It's such a big club all over the world," Coutinho told the Liverpool Echo.

"I was very young but I remember watching the Champions League final in 2005 when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to win the trophy. That was unbelievable.

"The manager sent me some text messages before I came over from Italy and I spoke a lot with Lucas. He phoned me and told me all about the club. That gave me the incentive to come over and I know I made the right decision. The manager has shown a lot of faith in me and hopefully I will repay that. I want to win some titles here to compensate the club for what they've done for me."

Liverpool currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, three points behind sixth-placed Everton having played a game more than their Merseyside rivals.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
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