It will surprise few to see how seamlessly Philippe Coutinho has adapted to life at his new club.
Coutinho seemingly requires no feeling out process whatsoever, judging by his debut for Barcelona which came on Thursday night.
The former Liverpool midfielder came on a substitute for the final 25 minutes of Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Espanyol in the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final and it’s safe to say that he impressed.
🔃 68: second change for Barça 🔴🔵👏
🔺 Andres Iniesta off
🔻 Coutinho on #CopaBarça (2-0) (2-1 agg.)— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 25, 2018
With a 2-1 aggregate advantage over Espanyol, the club at which Coutinho scored five goals in 16 appearances during a 2012 loan spell, Barca coasted towards victory and a place in the semi-finals.
And while the Brazilian playmaker failed to get on the scoresheet in his cameo appearance at the Camp Nou, he set up a couple of chances for his new teammates, one of which prompted an apologetic promise from Luis Suarez to be more clinical in front of goal.
A SEMIS 💪💪💪 Felicitaciones por el debut @Phil_Coutinho y espero a la próxima poder hacer el gol 😂😂😂. GRAN TRABAJO EQUIPO!!!!!
TO SEMIFINALS💪💪💪 Congratulations for your debut @Phil_Coutinho and I hope to score next time 😂😂😂. GREAT TEAM WORK!!!!! pic.twitter.com/g712KHA5MY
— Luis Suárez (@LuisSuarez9) January 25, 2018
Coutinho fed Suarez after some wonderful build-up play but a tremendous double save kept the score at 2-0 and the Uruguayan, who knows Coutinho very well after their time together at Liverpool, assured the world’s second most expensive signing that he’d put away chances like that in future.
Having taken up his position on the left hand side of Barca’s midfield, Coutinho looked like an absolute natural and needed no settling in as he quickly went about showing off the kind of ability that earned him his £142 million move earlier this month.
“It has been a special day because these were my first minutes with this club,” Coutinho said of his first appearance.
💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/UkHAICMSB7
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 25, 2018
“It was a great night. I am very happy and excited, because of how the fans welcomed me.
“I was a little nervous and anxious because of how big a club this is, but the way everyone welcomed me helped me to relax.”
Barca host Alaves in La Liga on Sunday night and Coutinho could well make his first full appearance for the Catalan giants then, having recovered from a thigh strain which has kept him out of action for the past three weeks.
One thing’s for certain, he seems to be a natural Barcelona player judging by the reviews of his performance on Thursday.
Shouldn't be surprised given he cost €160 million etc… but Coutinho looks right at home at Camp Nou already.
— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) January 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/fiazhamzath/status/956650006567469056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2Ffootball%2Fnews-reactions-everyone-is-saying-the-same-thing-about-coutinhos-barcelona-debut-20180125
Coutinho and the rest of the players played together in a previous life.
— Ramzi (@footballmood) January 25, 2018
Coutinho fits Valverde’s system perfectly. That left midfield role was basically made for him.
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) January 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/jperkovic93/status/956649556841771008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2Ffootball%2Fnews-reactions-everyone-is-saying-the-same-thing-about-coutinhos-barcelona-debut-20180125
Coutinho just blended like that ,natural player
— iKay (@lordcupid_) January 25, 2018
i love how the barça kit looks so natural on coutinho, like he was just made to wear it.
— p 🧚🏼♀️ (@nmelesstrish) January 25, 2018
