A diplomatic back injury has kept Philippe Coutinho out of a Liverpool shirt this season, but the goalscoring midfielder looked in fine fettle during Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Ecuador.

A second-half substitute, Coutinho scored Brazil's second after an inventive piece of link-up play between the Barcelona target and Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus.

Receiving the ball in the midfield, Coutinho drove at a back-peddling Ecuddor rearguard before picking out Gabriel with a chipped pass over the top.

The forward then teed himself up to head back into Coutinho's path who tucked home to secure a 2-0 victory in Porto Alegre.

Barcelona have aggressively targeted Coutinho since losing his compatriot Neymar to Paris Saint Germain, but the English transfer deadline has now passed.