In the 22nd round of the Premier League, Villa drew 2-2 at home to Manchester United, and Coutinho's arrival changed everything after falling behind 0-2 at the start. The Brazilian helped Villa to a tie with a goal and an assist to score a point at home.
Coutinho came off the bench in the second half, making his debut at Villa. The Brazilian scored two goals in five minutes, a performance that shocked the British media. You know, just a week ago, he was still questioned by the Spanish media because of his ability problems, and was blamed by Barça fans. But just after returning to the Premier League, Coutinho was fully resurrected.
According to statistics, Coutinho has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 18 Premier League games, scoring 11 goals and 7 assists. In the years since leaving the Premier League, it is really not easy for Kubird to continue these records.
Coutinho's performance undoubtedly gave Barca a heavy blow, and in these years at Barca, the Brazilian has never been integrated into the Barca system. His consistent mediocre performance in Spain has also been questioned. When he first joined Barca, since Messi was still in the squad, his ability was definitely not able to compete with Messi, and it was obviously impossible for Barca to change tactics around him in a core way.
After Messi's departure, Coutinho's performance at Barca also made it difficult for the Barca coaching staff to firmly establish him as the core. So in the midst of this entanglement, Kubird's time in Spain also sank.
Barca's problem has always been the same, spending a lot of money to buy stars, but can not give a corresponding position in the system lineup, resulting in these stars have no way to maximize their value in the Barca system. Like Coutinho, like Griezmann.
Both players are treated with core play, but Barca obviously can't give them that treatment. Before Barca chose to sign them, the club should have known that they were not in line with Barca's system. However, in order to create a luxurious lineup, Barca also did not hesitate to introduce these stars at a high price, completely ignoring their inability to adapt to the pain and discomfort of the team.
Now that Coutinho has regained his life at Villa, it may give Barca management more to think about. In the future reinforcements, what should be put first.