Philippe Coutinho Named Liverpool's Player of the Season

With Liverpool stumbling toward a season-opening 0-0 draw against Stoke City on August 9, Joe Gomez completed an 86th minute pass to Philippe Coutinho, who gathered in the deep attacking midfield with his back turned to goal.

Coutinho turned as he received the ball and drove forward with a Stoke City midfielder draped on his left shoulder. He then unleashed a bullet shot into the upper right corner of the goal, earning the Reds all three points to get the league campaign off on a positive note in spite of a lackluster team performance.

It's a testament to his performance level this year that the goal Stoke City finish was not the one voted as the best of the season at Liverpool's awards banquet, which was held Thursday. Instead, his stunning Europa League chip of goalkeeper David de Gea won top honors.

Coutinho was also named player of the season, players' player of the season (there's apparently a difference) and earned performance of the year for his work in Liverpool's 4-1 drubbing of Manchester City.

"This means a lot to me, because it comes from my teammates," he said of the awards, per ESPNFC. "It's been a good season for all of us."

The Brazilian midfielder has notched 12 goals and six assists in all competitions this season. He'll hope to finish strong as Liverpool aim to qualify for next year's Champions League through a Europa League final win over Sevilla next week.