Coutinho: Success in cup so important

A chastening 4-1 reversal by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday has left the Reds seven points away from the Barclays Premier League top four in the current standings.

After the loss in north London, manager Brendan Rodgers admitted that closing such a gap is an unrealistic prospect for his side with just seven fixtures remaining in the campaign.

Coutinho understands the size of the task too and, although the Brazilian hasn't surrendered all hope, sees the opportunity to lift silverware at Wembley in May as crucial.

Liverpool face Blackburn Rovers in an FA Cup quarter-final replay at Ewood Park on Wednesday night and would take on Aston Villa in the last four if they can secure progress.

"Winning the cup would save our season," the Reds' No.10 commented. "It is very important for us to have that as an objective.

"We have to pick ourselves up after what happened against Arsenal to get the results that we need. We want to be in the Champions League. That is our primary objective. We have seven games left and we have to see what happens."

Three strikes in eight minutes by the Gunners dismantled Liverpool's plans at the weekend, with Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez delivering successive blows before the break.

Rodgers' team improved after the interval and responded through a Jordan Henderson penalty, but a red card to Emre Can and Olivier Giroud's stoppage-time blast sealed a sour afternoon.

Coutinho said: "Arsenal played very well, as they always do, and we did not do the things we have to do to win, the things we have done in previous games, like pressing the ball well.

"That was the difference between the two sides. It was a very difficult game but we have to pick our heads up and keep believing. We have to keep going. We have more games to come and lots of things can still happen."