Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was delighted with Philippe Coutinho's performance in their 6-0 rout of Newcastle United.

Coutinho was at the heart of every attack for Liverpool as the Brazilian conjured two assists and pulled the Newcastle defence to pieces with his fine range of passing.

Rodgers said: "I think he's a top player already, considering he's 20 years of age.

"He might be small in stature but you can see his strength. Technically, if you look at him, he's got all the passes in the bag. He makes some wonderful passes and the weight of his passing is incredible.

"Look at his strength for the third goal, where he outmuscles Hatem Ben Arfa on the line and then dinks the ball between two defenders. After that, Sturridge's finishing was awesome.

"Coutinho's a wonderful player, who fits well with what we're trying to do and the great thing is that he'll only get better."