Philippe Coutinho speaks after making his Barcelona debut 1769450071KP2HSSkC
Philippe Coutinho made his first appearance for Barcelona last night in a 2-0 win against Catalan rivals Espanyol in the Copa del Rey.
The ex-Liverpool man was given 20 minutes to impress replacing Nou Camp legend Andres Iniesta.
The Brazil international put in a stellar performance and came close to getting an assist as he played through Luis Suarez.
But his former Anfield team-mate failed to convert from close range and apologised to Coutinho after the match.
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Suarez shared a photo with the Brazilian on his official Instagram account and suggested he was sorry for missing in the caption.
“To the semi-finals,” the striker wrote.
“Congratulations for your debut Coutinho and I hope to score next time.
“Great team-work.”
Despite not getting an assist on debut, Ernesto Valverde was pleased with Coutinho’s contribution.
And the Barca boss claimed he expects big things from the £142million signing over the coming seasons.
“We have a lot of hopes for him, in the sense that he can be very good for our style of play," Valverde said.
"His self-confidence, his one-on-one dribbling, his ability to escape defenders, his passing around the area and the danger he poses can all help us.
"I think he did well in this game, but let's see what happens.
"This is just the beginning."