Philippe Coutinho has offered an insight into his meeting with former teammate and close friend Luis Suarez this week - and revealed the Uruguayan is keeping a close eye on Liverpool’s impressive start to 2016-17.

The ex-Reds striker was back in England as his current club Barcelona took on Manchester City in a Champions League group-stage tie on Tuesday night.

Coutinho took the opportunity to meet up with his old friend at the Spanish club’s north-west hotel prior to the game, with the Brazilian posting a photo of their encounter on his Instagram account afterwards.

“It was very good - it is always nice to see Luis,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “He is a very close friend, but to be honest this happened because three friends of mine asked for tickets to watch the match!

“I met with him, we hugged each other and he saw my daughter again. He had the opportunity to come back to Liverpool to visit previously and meet my daughter, so we got together again this time and took some pictures. It was very nice.

“He is very happy. He has a very big passion for this football club and follows us from a distance, so he is very happy with our journey so far and supports us from there.”