Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde defended Philippe Coutinho
It is needless to say that Philippe Coutinho is going through one of the worst phases of his career. The €160 million signing has no confidence on the ball, and is not enjoying his game. But Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has defended his star player from criticism.
"Valverde said, “What I like about Coutinho is that he’s daring and he’s always prepared to take the opposition on.He makes things happen. After that, sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t. He’s had good chances and the fact that he’s getting into those positions one-on-one with the goalkeeper is really good. He’s not converted those chances this time, but he will.”"
While the Brazil international has taken on opposition players with ease and come out on top in most occasions, he has been indecisive in the final third. Coutinho’s understanding with Jordi Alba on the left flank is also questionable, and hasn’t sparked in recent weeks.
His formidable partnership with Arthur was also broken by his short tenure as bench-warmer, with Ousmane Dembélé’s brilliant run of form. Since his return to the first-team, Coutinho has struggled to revive that link, with Arturo Vidal coming in and out.
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Coutinho’s finishing has also deteriorated considerably. It is hard to imagine a player who was scoring bangers from outside the box at the beginning of the season is missing one-on-one chances. One of his more important misses recently came against in the 2-0 loss to Sevilla.
Moments after coming on for compatriot Malcom, he had a golden opportunity to reduce Sevilla’s lead and grab an away goal for the side. He was afforded a lot of time and space in the box but his shot went flying over the bar.
The 26-year old forward also missed a chance against Girona. Lionel Messi released Coutinho with a delightful through ball, and he brought the ball closer to goal. But he ended up firing it at the onrushing Bono.
Moreover, Coutinho has been hesitant to shoot from outside the box. Even when he has a lot of space, he prefers to pass it inside to either Ivan Rakitić or Leo Messi than take the shot. This is very puzzling, considers he is among the finest long-shot takers in the world.
Unless he can turn things around, Philippe Coutinho’s spot in the first-team will be under threat yet again after Ousmane Dembélé returns from his ankle injury. Coutinho needs to justify Ernesto Valverde’s decision to defend him with a match-winning performance against Sevilla.