Liverpool got their first glimpse of life without Luis Suarez last Saturday evening. But there is only so much you can take out of a 6 – 0 victory over a Newcastle side that were truly abject.

The Toon showed no fight or togetherness and by dint of their performances have pulled themselves back into the relegation melee.

That’s not to take anything away from the Reds. They arrived at St James Park under a cloud after their Uruguayan talisman’s bizarre taste for Serbian forearm.

With Suarez absent until October, Brendan Rodgers chose an interesting system, playing a flexible 4-2-3-1 with Daniel Sturridge in the lone striker role, young Brazilian starlet Philippe Coutinho behind him and Jordan Henderson breaking infield from an inside left position to provide a credible goal threat.

At the base of midfield, Lucas had 103 touches of the ball – the most of any player on the pitch – and sat deep in the vicinity of Yohan Cabaye while Gerrard pressed further up the field where he engaged Newcastle defensive pivot Cheick Tiote.

Newcastle’s 4-3-3 formation meant Liverpool also had a spare man at the back, which gave Daniel Agger the space to start moves and also encouraged Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique to break forward.

Fielding Coutinho in the hole proved to be a masterstroke in the circumstances, with the January signing linking well with Sturridge and providing the key pass for the second goal and assist for the third.

His movement into a deeper position also brought the best out of Henderson who broke forward with aplomb, while Stewart Downing was given space to cut inside and ended up providing two assists. With Downing moving inside from time to time, Sturridge also occasionally shifted towards the right at times.

Coutinho has generally been placed on the left of the forward line but on the evidence at St James Park, he can be influential in a more central role in the future.

But despite his good movement and intelligent link up play, Coutinho does not provide Suarez’ goal threat. When Suarez plays behind the striker he can also drop deep in search of the ball, but he tends to concentrate on dribbling at opposition defences rather than making runs to open up space for others. That may be one of the reasons why Rodgers opted to play Suarez as a lone striker in a couple of recent games, including the first half against Chelsea.

The Uruguayan is far more direct than his Brazilian counterpart, taking an average of 5.7 shots per game, compared to the two shots Coutinho mustered.

But the Brazilian is much more creative, having notched up four assists in the ten games he has played in this season, compared to Suarez’ five in 33.

In that vein, it will be interesting to see whether Rodgers persists with Coutinho in the centre for tomorrow’s Merseyside derby at home to Everton and beyond.

If it works consistently, it will be easier for Liverpool to cope with the Suarez exit rumours although the ideal situation for the club would be to find a way for Coutinho and the Reds’ No 7 to coexist in a central area.