Barcelona loanee Philippe Coutinho scored in his very first game for Aston Villa as his late goal helped the club with a hard-earned draw against Manchester United.
It has been a difficult few years for the Brazilian. Once touted as a magician for his exploits with Liverpool in the Premier League, hiswidely-anticipated and highly-billed move to Barcelona didn’t work out, and Coutinho found himself being loaned out and languishing on the sidelines at length.
However, a loan move to Aston Villa in the winter transfer window has brought with it an opportunity for him to showcase his talents in the same league where he had made a name for himself. If his debut was anything to go by, the midfielder is rediscovering prominence once again.
He made his Aston Villa debut after coming off the bench against Manchester United. The substitution worked wonders as Steven Gerrard’s side came back from two goals behind to draw the game 2-2, with Coutinho having a hand in both goals. It was his 83rd-minute goal on debut that restored parity for Villa in the match.
Following the match, he expressed his happiness upon returning to England to the reporters following a difficult period in Spain.
“I missed these games and the Premier League. I’m very happy to be here with my new teammates. It was a good start, we kept believing until the end, but we didn’t lose,”
he said.
The Brazilian was also quizzed about his four years in Barcelona, one of which he had spent on loan at Bayern Munich. However, he didn’t want to speak about the several ups and downs of the past. Instead, he wants to focus on his new club and work towards a successful partnership.
“I’m happy, it was the first game and I want to work hard to improve and be in better shape.
“There have been many ups and downs. It is in the past. I’m here and I’m focused on the objectives of the club and the manager and I want to do a good job to help my teammates and the club,”
Coutinho further added.
The Brazilian appeared in 76 games for the Catalan club and managed to get on the scoresheet on 17 occasions. After an extremely successful 2017/18 league season where he proved to be instrumental in Barcelona’s La Liga conquest after arriving in the winter transfer window, the Brazilian slowly fell out of place, eventually becoming a shadow of the player he once was.
However, the successful debut with new colours will be positive news for both the player and Aston Villa. Gerrard’s men will now switch their focus towards Everton this Saturday.
