Philippe Coutinho is making a return to form after rough patch at Barcelona
Philippe Coutinho suffered a torn muscle bundle that kept him out of action in November. Since, he has not been at his best, as Barcelona assistant manager Jon Aspiazu has stated. But he came close to returning to his €160 million best in the 3-0 win over Eibar.
The 26-year old Brazilian forward has been mostly restricted to appearances off the bench since starting in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Wembley. He was decent against Mauricio Pochettino’s men, but was mediocre in his cameos as a substitute.
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That is why Coutinho has received a lot of criticism recently. But he gave a fitting reply to his critics with an excellent performance against Eibar. He explored his Liverpool connection with Luis Suárez to the first two goals, collecting the assist for the opener.
Against Eibar, there a period of around five minutes till the hour-mark when Barcelona upped the pressure. The side played with elegance and skill, and the leader of the pack was none other than Philippe Coutinho. He was involved in setting up both Suárez and Messi, but both failed to finish.
Coutinho was dispossessed a few times, and Brazil’s World Cup hero was also responsible for some mispasses. But he made it up for it with by producing some magical moments, as he went past swarms of Eibar defenders by using nutmegs and dribbles.
His runs were well-timed, and and he linked up with Jordi Alba on the left flank. And while Luis Suárez steals the title of the man-of-the-match, Philippe Coutinho was behind not by much.