Liverpool legend John Barnes believes that the presence of the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino has lifted the creative burden from Philippe Coutinho's shoulders.

Liverpool claimed a wonderful 6-0 victory over Aston Villa in their last Premier League match and the trio of Sturridge, Coutinho and Firmino were simply sensational during the clash.

Club legend John Barnes was left very encouraged by the display of the trio, who again combined in Thursday night's 1-0 Europa League win over Augsburg, and believes that the presence of Sturridge and Firmino will go a long way in lifting the burden of providing the creative edge away from Brazilian playmaker Coutinho.

Barnes told the Liverpool Echo: "What was apparent to me watching the game against Aston Villa recently was that the burden of creativity which has been on Coutinho's shoulders for so long has been lifted.

"We have Firmino now, who is coming good, and of course Daniel Sturridge too. So whereas before it was all up to Coutinho, now we have some help for him.

"Liverpool don't have lots of great individuals at the moment, so when they do have one really good player, they tend to rely heavily on them. I think we relied too heavily on Coutinho for creativity, bit having Sturridge and Firmino in the side with him helps hugely."