Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/457075
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 JANUARY 2015 FOOTBALL Coutinho signs Liverpool deal Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho has signed a long-term contract with Liverpool THE club has not confirmed the length of the contract but Sky sources understand it runs until June 2020. Coutinho, an £8.5m signing from Inter Milan two years ago, has be- come a key player for Liverpool this season. He told the club's website: "I'm re- ally happy. It's a dream come true playing for this great club and being part of this squad. "Today I've committed my future to the club and for this I'm feeling very pleased. "This club is great and the fans have always supported me, so I've been eager to sign this new deal since conversations started. Today is a very happy day. "It means so much. This club has given me the opportunity to play and believed in me even though I hadn't been playing regularly at my previ- ous club. "I've had a great reception since my first day here. As I always say, Liver- pool is a big family and I'm a happy person here." The Brazilian provided both as- sists in Saturday's 2-0 win over West Ham, leading manager Brendan Rodgers to brand the 22-year-old "a little magician". "Young Phil is performing at a real high level and it's a great to see be- cause he's a little magician with the ball," Rodgers said. "The rhythm of his game is good. His courage and bravery to get on the ball is fantas- tic. "If he can continue to improve – he can improve his goal-scoring ability – then he will get into that bracket of being world class. "He has got a wonderful strike on him, inside and outside the box. It will just be about arriving in ar- eas where he can make movements without the ball because once he is in there he has got a decent finish on him. "His game has been about mak- ing goals but I think as he gets more experience he will understand bet- ter and there will be other players to make those final passes. That will allow him to penetrate a little bit fur- ther forward. "He will be looking to improve the accuracy in his shooting. Sometimes you see him dragging the shot, but at the minute I don't have many com- plaints about him. "He is pressing the game really well, he is aggressive and hunting the ball. You see his quality in his two assists at the weekend. They were sublime. "The first pass was incredible in- vention, he was half looking away when he made the pass and the sec- ond one looks an easy pass but he has put it to the correct side for Daniel's touch and finish. Hopefully, in the years to come, the goals will come more readily for him." Rodgers has compared Coutinho's role to that of Real Madrid pair Luka Modric and Toni Kroos and says his lack of goals - just two this season - is not an issue. "You look at Modric, he doesn't have a big goal scoring record but he is a world class player," Rodgers added.. "He is a continuity player. He takes the ball in the middle of the field, he can make the passes, serving the ball from behind and he gets the odd goal from outside the box. "He is a top-class player who opens the door for the team in the centre of midfield. Toni Kroos is another of that type - a wonderful footballer and great passer. "Those two maybe don't get as many goals as their technique would suggest but that goes back to their role in the team. Their role is to sit behind the ball and serve the ball and create the game for others - not necessarily to score 15 or 20 goals a season. "Phil's numbers will improve but it's not the be all and end all if he doesn't get 20 goals. His functions are elsewhere in the team." Coutinho signed a new long-term contract Mauro Icardi blasted by Roberto Mancini for getting into row with Inter Milan fans Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi has been given a ticking-off by coach Roberto Mancini for getting into a row with supporters after Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Sassuolo THE Argentine forward, along with team mate Fredy Guarin, threw his shirt into the crowd but the Inter fans, angry at the team's performance, hurled it back at him. Icardi then swore at the supporters and had to be restrained by team mates. "Icardi made a mistake because we need to accept criticism," Mancini told report- ers on Tuesday. "I told him he shouldn't have gone to the stands because it was only to be expected that the fans would be angry. "Having said that the Inter fans have always stuck with the team and I'm sure they'll continue to do so." Inter visit Napoli in an Italian Cup quar- ter-final on Wednesday, a welcome break from Serie A where they have slumped to a miserable 13th with 26 points, winning two out of 10 games since Mancini re- placed Walter Mazzarri in November. They are 13 points adrift of Napoli in third spot, the Champions League play- off position, and eight points clear of the relegation zone. "I never want to lose, not even in train- ing," said Mancini. "I always knew there would be some difficulties in terms of changing the playing system and mental- ity ... but I'm happy with how the squad is doing. "We need to arrest this trend, score more goals and try not to concede. The club helps me, we work together and I have absolutely no problem at all with anyone. "(Club president Erick) Thohir has done everything he can to help us. Now that the transfer window has closed we need to build on the positive elements we have," said Mancini. Mauro Icardi and Freddy Guarin clash with Inter supporters last Sunday