Coutinho - It's not all rosy ahead

In the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final between Barcelona and Espanyol, coach Valverde sent Coutinho onto the field to replace his senior Iniesta in the 68th minute.

With more than 20 minutes on the field, the former Liverpool player played quite aggressively in the left wing position. A smart through ball for Paulinho and an accurate assist for striker Suarez (the player wearing the number 9 shirt shot straight at the Espanyol goalkeeper) were the marks that Coutinho left in his debut for his new team.

That impressive performance has somewhat dispelled the doubts of fans about Coutinho's integration at Camp Nou. It was no surprise when coach Valverde named the Brazilian player in the starting lineup for the Barcelona - Alaves match, which took place last Sunday night.

Playing behind the striker duo Messi - Suarez in the 4 - 3 - 1 - 2 formation, Coutinho appeared out of place with the rest of the team.

Coutinho has yet to prove himself in a Barcelona shirt. Photo: Internet

Despite his active participation, the former Liverpool player has yet to find a connection with his teammates. In more than 66 minutes on the field, the player born in 1992 only made 1 shot (the ball hit the foot of an Espanyol defender in the 32nd minute) and did not make any sharp passes to his teammates.

Having to make way for Alcacer after only 21 minutes of the second half, Coutinho showed a below average performance.

Just look at the game and the results Barcelona had when Coutinho was playing and then left the field. Without the Brazilian player on the field, the home team at Camp Nou attacked more coherently. The 2 goals by Suarez (minute 72) and Messi (minute 84) were just a few of the many opportunities Barcelona created in front of Espanyol's goal.

With Coutinho, Barcelona played deadlocked and were behind 0-1. Without Coutinho, Barcelona attacked coherently and won the match with a final score of 2-1, enough to clearly see the difference.

Neymar also had a difficult first season at Camp Nou. Photo: Internet

Of course, 1-2 matches cannot accurately assess a player's ability in a new environment. Coutinho has only played for Barcelona for nearly 90 minutes and has just returned after a period of injury. But that does not mean the Brazilian player is allowed to be subjective about his position in a star-studded squad like Barcelona.

Alcacer is back, Dembele is about to return, Gomes is waiting... If not careful, Coutinho will follow in the footsteps of Turan - who returned home to play for Basaksehir on loan.

In the past, there were many stars who came to Camp Nou like Coutinho is now (such as Riquelme, Ibrahimovic), but in the end had to leave Barcelona in disappointment, because they could not integrate with the team or had conflicts with the coach...

Hopefully, with the talent of coach Valverde and his own efforts, Coutinho will quickly assert his position at Camp Nou, like his compatriots Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo (fat) or Neymar...