Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits their success without Philippe Coutinho has surprised him.

Klopp led his team to last season's Champions League final without the Barcelona midfielder, while this campaign has seen European progress matched with a Premier League title challenge.

Asked if that served as proof that Liverpool have not missed Coutinho, Klopp replied: “I don't want to answer that question. I know a lot of people will make a lot of s*** stories.

“Yes, we miss Phil Coutinho a lot because he is a world-class player and I loved working with him. But we had to deal without him and we did well.

“When I first heard he wanted to go to Barcelona, I couldn't imagine we would do that good but we did."