Skrtel: That's why Phil is a big player for us
Philippe Coutinho's equalising goal during Saturday's 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge perfectly summed up the midfielder's importance to Liverpool, according to Martin Skrtel.
The Reds trailed by a single goal going into first-half injury time in the capital, with Ramires having given Jose Mourinho's men the lead after just four minutes.
But Coutinho, who had largely been quiet up until that point, left the goalscorer for dead with a dummy before curling beautifully home to level things up.
The mental boost of notching just before the break proved to be crucial to the visitors, who dominated proceedings in the second period and ran out deserved victors.
And Skrtel says that is exactly why he and his teammates hold their Brazilian colleague in such high regard.
"The big players show their quality in the games you need them," the defender told Liverpoolfc.com.
"Maybe Philippe didn't play quite as well in the last few games but today he showed his quality and how important he is for this team.
"We didn't start well, we knew that. But I think after that ten minutes we started to play the game we wanted to and the [equalising] goal we scored was a massive help for us.
"In the second half we dominated, scored two goals, and won the game."
Skrtel was keen, however, to emphasise the role played by other members of the starting XI and those who emerged from the bench.
"The performance as a team was outstanding and every single player [either] on the pitch or on the bench, did everything for the win today," he added.
"That's why we are very happy. It feels great.
"To beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is always something special and especially after the performance we showed today.
"I think second half we absolutely dominated and deserved the three points."