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Who is the Premier League's best goalscorer from outside the box?

Philippe Coutinho celebrates after putting Liverpool two up at Leicester
Image: Philippe Coutinho has scored from outside the box in his last two Premier League games

Is Philippe Coutinho the Premier Legaue's best goalscorer from outside the box?

The Liverpool midfielder whipped in another superb long-range effort in his side's 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Sunday, which underlined why he remains so valuable to Jurgen Klopp's side.

His strike at St James' Park was his 17th goal from beyond the 18-yard line since he joined Liverpool in 2013. No Premier League player has scored that many in that time.

Coutinho's nearest rivals in terms of goals from outside the box since his Premier League debut are Manchester City's Yaya Toure and Tottenham's Christian Eriksen, who have both scored 14. Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson are next on the list with 11.

Coutinho

So does that make the Brazil international the best shooter from range? It's not quite that simple because Coutinho takes a high number of shots from distance.

In fact, Coutinho ranks mid-table when it comes to conversion rates by players who have scored at least five goals from outside of the box over the past five Premier League seasons.

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Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher praise Coutinho's quality

Coutinho has taken 284 long-range shots, meaning he has a conversion rate of 5.99 per cent.

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In comparison, Toure (7.49 per cent), Kevin De Bruyne (7.22 per cent) and Kane (6.67 per cent) have found the net with a higher percentage of their efforts.

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Watch Kevin De Bruyne's goal for Manchester City against Chelsea

However, all four of those players are some way off the top of the table when it comes to converting shots from outside the box.

Perhaps surprisingly, Coutinho's Liverpool team-mate Divock Origi - who is currently out on loan at Wolfsburg - has the best success rate, having scored five of his 20 shots from beyond the penalty area (25 per cent).

Swansea's Jordan Ayew (13.89 per cent), Manchester United's Juan Mata (9.68 per cent) and Chelsea's Pedro (9.43 per cent) have also proven to be dangerous from far out, while Gareth Bale, in a reminder of his threat before he left Spurs for Real Madrid, is fifth on the list, having scored with nine of his 98 shots from outside the box (9.18 per cent) in 2012/13, his final season in the Premier League.

Top Premier League shooters from long range - since August 2012

Player Shots from outside box Goals from outside box Conversion %
Divock Origi 20 5 25
Jordan Ayew 36 5 13.89
Juan Mata 93 9 9.68
Pedro 53 5 9.43
Gareth Bale 98 9 9.18
Xherdan Shaqiri 66 6 9.09
Robin van Persie 60 5 8.33
Luis Suarez 145 12 8.28
Sergio Aguero 134 11 8.21
Christian Benteke 64 5 7.81
Jordan Henderson 104 8 7.69
James Milner 80 6 7.5
Yaya Toure 187 14 7.49
Stephane Sessegnon 83 6 7.23
Kevin De Bruyne 97 7 7.22
Harry Kane 165 11 6.67
Robert Snodgrass 105 7 6.67
Loic Remy 76 5 6.58
Frank Lampard 97 6 6.19
Willian 116 7 6.03
Philippe Coutinho 284 17 5.99
Alexis Sanchez 152 9 5.92
Eden Hazard 122 7 5.74
Wayne Rooney 197 11 5.58
Kevin Mirallas 151 8 5.3
Christian Eriksen 270 14 5.19
Adam Lallana 97 5 5.15
Gylfi Sigurdsson 234 11 4.7
Daniel Sturridge 117 5 4.27
Oscar 142 6 4.23
Andros Townsend 168 7 4.17
Yohan Cabaye 171 7 4.09
Jason Puncheon 173 7 4.05
Aleksandar Kolarov 126 5 3.97
Ross Barkley 202 8 3.96
Jonjo Shelvey 183 7 3.83
Steven Gerrard 132 5 3.79
Craig Gardner 133 5 3.76
Romelu Lukaku 155 5 3.23
Charlie Adam 191 5 2.62

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