Philippe Coutinho has already debuted with Barcelona. The Brazilian won praise from the other Los Cuban pillars.
The quarter-final match of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals became Coutinho's debut. In the game against Espanyol at Camp Nou on Friday (26/1/2018), Barca won 2-0.
Two Barca goals in the game were recorded on behalf of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Everything was booked in the first half. Barca qualify for the semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win.
Coutinho was not a starter in the game against Espanyol. He entered in the 68th minute, replacing Andres Iniesta.
About 22 minutes in action, Coutinho almost contributed an assist for Barca. His bait on Luis Suarez in the 75th minute, still not fruitful goal because pushed by goalkeeper Espanyol, Pau Lopez.
Coutinho recorded the official Barca website won three times the scramble against Espanyol. He lost six times the ball. No shots have been released by Coutinho in his first match.
Nevertheless, Coutinho is quite impressive teammates. Gerard Pique was one of them, he even mentioned Iniesta's name.
"Coutinho has the right style for Barca and he is a player similar to Iniesta in many aspects," Pique said on the Barca website.
Coutinho's adaptation with the Catalan team is also judged smoothly. "Coutinho is a great player and he adapt well to the team," said Jordi Alba.