Philippe Coutinho Bemoans Poor Liverpool Defending After Reds Are Again Their Own Worst Enemy

Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho has blamed poor defending for the Reds' humiliation at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday, with Spurs cruising to a crushing 4-1 win at Wembley.

It was the second time this season that Liverpool have been hammered by a 'top four' rival after losing 5-0 against Manchester City, and the result leaves the club playing catch up in mid-table, as many as 12 points off the top of the table already.

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A substandard defensive record has been Liverpool's biggest issue once more this season, with only five other teams conceding more than the 16 they have shipped in just nine games.

For Coutinho, who makes up part of the Premier League's most exciting and dangerous attacking units, there is no escaping the fact that bad defending was the difference against Spurs.

"They were goals that could have been avoided. Starting from out wide, they ended up being silly goals," he told ESPN Brasil in the wake of the defeat.

"The manager said quite a lot about how they would try goals like that and, of course, in defence we have to play a decent game. We were in the game, but the third goal in the first half was a low."

Liverpool were 2-0 down inside 12 minutes, and even though Mohamed Salah pulled a goal back to half the deficit not long after, the Reds were once more their own worst enemy in letting the game get away from them again in the second half.

Dejan Lovren was embarrassingly hauled off during the first half. But, despite not being a defender himself, Coutinho is keen not to point the finger at any single individual or specific position, insisting that the whole team has to accept responsibility.

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"It's not just about the defence, it's about the whole team, because the first goal started out wide, where everyone is involved in defending, not just the wingers or full-backs," he explained.

"We have to improve this as quickly as possible in order to win games, fight more, in more difficult games like this. That's what decides an important game, so you have to be more attentive.

"To concede in the first four minutes, that unsettled the whole team a bit. Then the next one was after 12 or 13 minutes. It's really difficult against a strong team when you start like that."

With other Premier League clubs in action in the Carabao Cup this week, Liverpool will have a clear run of days to prepare for their next game against Huddersfield at the weekend.