Philippe Coutinho managed to break up Manchester United’s victory that was already in sight when they faced Aston Villa in the Premier League continued, Saturday (15/1).
Competing at Villa Park Stadium, Man Utd, without Cristiano Ronaldo due to a hip injury, got a breath of fresh air through Bruno Fernandes’ quick goal in the sixth minute.
Man United advantage stems from the scenario of free kicks. Alex Telles pushed the ball short to Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder then fired a hard shot that failed to be caught perfectly by Emiliano Martinez. The ball escapes the catch and passes through the legs of the Argentine goalkeeper.
Martinez was surprised because Edinson Cavani’s movement disrupted concentration in the penalty box.
The hosts are not without opportunities. In the 36th minute, Emiliano Buendia managed to head in Lucas Digne’s cross but was still able to be blocked by David de Gea.
Villa also had a golden opportunity in the 43rd minute. This time Digne managed to snatch Matty Cash’s cross, but again De Gea was able to resist, who performed brilliantly.
Entering the beginning of the second half, both teams played with a high tempo. Both Villa and Man Utd both spread threats. However, the Red Devils were able to double the score to 2-0 again from the ingenuity of Bruno Fernandes in the 67th minute.
Fred’s short pass in the penalty box was immediately struck by Bruno Fernandes’ hard shot which hit the crossbar before the ball bounced into Martinez’s goal.
Coach Steven Gerard’s decision to enter Philippe Coutinho in the 68th minute proved right. The Barcelona loanee really made an impact on the pitch.
Coutinho’s slick movement in front of the penalty box in the 77th minute resulted in a deflection so that the ball was controlled by Jacob Ramsey in the penalty box. His shot from close range could no longer be dammed by De Gea and changed the score to 1-2.
In the 82nd minute, Coutinho managed to equalize to 2-2 through a flick in front of goal using Ramsey’s sweet bait. Goals from the Brazilian midfielder made Man United actually under pressure.
However, the 2-2 draw lasted until the game was over. Coutinho deserves additional credit in this match for the positive impact he had when he came on as a substitute.
It was a scintillating debut for Coutinho who only played 22 minutes on the pitch as Aston Villa hosted star-studded side Man Utd.
It’s too early to predict Coutinho will be successful with Aston Villa. However, it is not wrong to say that Coutinho is not matched with Barcelona.
Because, the Brazilian attacking midfielder proved capable of performing at the highest level if he left Barcelona. This happened when he was on loan at Bayern Munich for the 2019/2020 season.
Together with Munich, Coutinho has again found the pleasure of playing as a playmaker in midfield. He even contributed to helping the Bundesliga giants win the Champions League.
The player who was born in Rio de Janeiro was even able to score two goals when Munich knocked out Barcelona in the quarter-finals which is hard to forget because it ended with a score of 8-2.
However, his light again dimmed when he returned to Barcelona in the 2020/2021 season. The Barca bench is again a close friend for Coutinho in the second half of the 2021/2022 season.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez does not consider Coutinho an important player. Azulgrana’s management also decided to loan Coutinho to Aston Villa to ease salary expenses.
Now, Coutinho has the opportunity to prove himself as one of the top play makers as usual under the direction of coach Steven Gerard, who was once his partner in Liverpool’s midfield.
His brilliant debut with The Villans could be a sign that he is indeed not matched with Barcelona and is ready to start a new life at Aston Villa. Given that Barca open a permanent sale option.
