After making his debut on Thursday, Philippe Coutinho was handed his first start for Barcelona on Sunday. Ernesto Valverde chose to play the ex-Liverpool man alongside Andres Iniesta in the starting XI, at least temporarily answering one of the key questions about how the 25-year-old would fit into Barcelona’s line-up.
The Brazilian duly set about doing his best to impress his new team-mates and home fans, showing glimpses of his talent with some sharp link-up play and smart passing. Ultimately, however, it was clear that he and the rest of the team need some time getting used to each other as they struggled to break down a stubborn Alaves side and Coutinho failed to last the 90 minutes in Barcelona’s come-from-behind 2-1 win.
Here’s a closer look at how Coutinho fared on his full debut.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 1
Shots on target – 0
Pass Accuracy – 89%
Key Passes – 0
Touches – 77
Dribbles – 1
EFFECTIVENESS
Coutinho had his moments of quality, playing a few eye-catching passes to drive Barcelona forward and linking up well with his colleagues. Of course, when your colleagues include Lionel Messi and Iniesta, it’s not hard to rack up some snappy one-twos. In truth, the Brazilian didn’t have much of an impact on his full debut for his new club. Part of the credit for that should go to Alaves, who denied the 25-year-old the space and time to produce anything telling whenever he was in a dangerous position. It was only slightly surprising when Valverde chose to withdraw the new signing for Paco Alcacer midway through the second-half with Barcelona still trailing.
It was a mixed display from Coutinho on his first start.
KEY MOMENTS
13th min, PASS: The first glimpse of brilliance from Barcelona’s record new signing, as he stood up his man before delivering a beautiful ball to compatriot Nelson Semedo in the Alaves box. Had Semedo produced a better cross and set up a goal, Coutinho would have deserved all the credit.
32nd min, SHOT: This was nearly the moment for Coutinho. Firstly, he produced a stunning pass to set-up a Barcelona attack. Then, when the ball broke to him, it seemed like he was certain to score and make his debut a memorable one. But Alaves’ Ruben Duarte put in a brilliant block to deny Coutinho his debut goal.
66th min, SUB: Coutinho came off to polite applause as Barcelona chased an equaliser. It wasn’t altogether surprising, as the Brazilian had seemed like he was fading in the second-half and hadn’t really been able to put his stamp on the game the way he would have liked.
VERDICT: 6/10
Coutinho was no doubt hoping for a dream debut on his first start for Barcelona, making his mark with a wonder goal or a perfect assist. He never really came close to producing anything like that, rarely getting a sight of goal or finding the pockets of space to deliver the key pass. There was some neat interplay between Coutinho and his colleagues at times, and he showed some sharp turns and dribbling skills to avoid losing the ball – but for someone of Coutinho’s quality, that’s the bare minimum.
