Philippe Coutinho got the opportunity on Sunday to show how far he’d come since he was last at Espanyol’s home stadium. Barcelona’s “other club” had given Coutinho the chance to prove himself during a spell on loan from Inter Milan when he was struggling at the Italian side, and having made the most of that chance, the Brazilian has gone from strength to strength before making it back to Barcelona for the city’s more famed club.
But on Sunday, amidst conditions which made playing football borderline impossible as the rain left Espanyol’s pitch more or less water-logged, Coutinho struggled to have the impact he’s capable of. Thankfully for him, his teammates were able to rescue a 1-1 draw when it looked like Barcelona were heading for their first La Liga loss this season.
Here’s a look at how Coutinho fared against his old side.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 2
Shots on target – 0
Pass Accuracy – 83%
Key Passes – 3
Dribbles – 1
Touches – 85
EFFECTIVENESS
Coutinho is still finding his feet at Barcelona, which is understandable given this was only his second start for his new club. At times on Sunday he showed his class with some neat touches, composed passing, clever link-up play with Luis Suarez, and on one occasion, a classic Coutinho strike from distance that cannoned off the crossbar. But he faded in the second half, failing to provide any spark as conditions worsened and Barcelona looked headed for a first La Liga loss of the season.
Coutinho struggled in tough conditions at Espanyol.
KEY MOMENTS
22nd min, SHOT: So nearly Coutinho’s moment. A trademark strike as Coutinho controlled a pass and then went for goal from just outside the box, but his powerful, curling shot came thundering off the bar.
61st min, CHANCE: The only time Coutinho looked threatening in the second half. He picked up the ball just outside the box and went for a clever dinked pass to Suarez. The Uruguayan was able to pivot and find enough space to take a shot that would have left Coutinho with a deserved assist for his moment of genius, but the shot was straight at the keeper.
VERDICT: 6/10
Coutinho returned to the club which kick-started his European club career, but if he thought he’d feel comfortable in the familiar surroundings of Espanyol, that wasn’t to be the case. He started brightly, nearly getting his first Barcelona goal only to be denied by the woodwork, but as the game went on and conditions worsened, the Brazilian had less and less of an impact.
Nonetheless, it was at least a marginal improvement on his last league game, when he was hauled off with half an hour to go while Barcelona were still trailing against Alaves. As he settles in and gets to know his teammates better, he will no doubt deliver on the potential that made Barcelona make him their record signing.
