‘Philippe Coutinho is MADE for the Premier League’: Social media goes wild as Barcelona loanee’s late leveller against Manchester United marks dream Aston Villa debut
- Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 down to draw with Manchester United
- Philippe Coutinho scored the equaliser on his debut on-loan from Barcelona
- The playmaker is back in the Premier League with a bang after leaving in 2018
- Coutinho received a rush of support online from fans happy to see him back
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Aston Villa fans are starting to think they’ve struck gold, as Philippe Coutinho scored just 13 minutes into life back in the Premier League to bag a precious point.
The Brazilian Barcelona loanee, whose short-term deal includes an option for a permanent move in the summer, was introduced 68 minutes into Saturday’s clash with Manchester United by his former team-mate and new manager Steven Gerrard.
The hosts were 2-0 down but Jacob Ramsey struck back inside 10 minutes of the substitution, before Ramsey setup Coutinho for a tap-in at the back post with just eight minutes to play.
Philippe Coutinho scored for Aston Villa on his debut to scrape a point against Man United
The Brazilian arrived for a tap-in from Jacob Ramsey’s cross as he starts his loan move in style
Coutinho left the Premier League for a staggering £142m but the world class sparkle he exhibited at Liverpool went missing in Barcelona colours. He’s back on English shored looking to rediscover his best, and made the perfect start.
Reds fans were just as delighted with Coutinho’s debut, revelling in their former talisman denying Man United three points.
Former Reds winger Luis Garcia wrote on Twitter: Welcome back to the Premier League Philippe Coutinho. Thanks! #OnceaRedAlwaysaRed.’
@mark_of_life added: ‘Coutinho was made for this league. Don’t know why he left.’
The midfielder is joining up with former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard at Villa Park
‘Coutinho is a world class player. The reason he failed at Barca go well beyond Coutinho individually. Just poor man management,’ @RoryFitz11 wrote.
The Brazilian had scored seven and assisted six in 13 starts at the start of the 2017-18 season when he was whisked off to Barcelona, and will be hoping to rediscover that lethal form at Villa.
With Lucas Digne also signing from Everton, Gerrard is making waves in the Premier League as Villa aim to build a team capable of challenging for European spots.
Coutinho could prove to be a crucial cog in such a team, and told Sky Sports he was glad to be back in England: ‘Yes, I missed these games and the Premier League. I am very happy to be here and this was a good start.’
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