Philippe Coutinho scored and assisted on his English Premier League return on Saturday night. Phillipe Coutinho made his debut from the bench when Aston Villa were trailing 0-2 against Manchester United at home. But former Liverpool star changed the course of the game whit his magical skills. He assisted for Jacob Ramsey’s goal and a few minutes later scored an equalizer to steal away three points from Manchester United in a 2-2 draw at Villa Park.
The 29-year-old Brazilian midfielder arrived at Villa Park last week on loan from Barcelona. It was a big statement from the Villans to sign a player of his stature but Coutinho’s instant impact will surely attract big-name players to follow him at Aston Villa. Manager Steven Gerrard was crucial to convenience his former Liverpool teammate to join him at Villa Park. Coutinho, who was on the verge of joining Arsenal, rejected big offers from European giants and took a significant wage cut to join Aston Villa for regular game time.
Aston Villa rescued a much-needed point but deserved three points against sloppy Manchester United. The heroics of goalkeeper David De Gea, who made 7 saves, made a big difference. Now Manchester United still find themselves at 7th position with 32 points from the 20 league matches. They are 5 points behind 4th placed West Ham United and their chances of finishing in top-four position are getting slim.
Both Philippe Coutinho And Lucas Digne Shine On Aston Villa Debut:
Aston Villa made two big statement signings this month with Philippe Coutinho arriving from Barcelona on loan and Lucas Digne from Everton for a transfer fee of £25 million. These two signings in the winter window show the vision Steven Gerrard is looking for with Aston Villa. The Villans lost their former captain Jack Grealish to Machester City the last summer for a transfer fee of £100 million. Now Aston Villa are spending smart and fans will sure raise their expectations after yesterday’s performance.
Steven Gerrard gave left-back Lucas Digne a full debut in this crucial clash ahead of Matt Targett and Ashley Young but kept Coutinho on the bench as he suggested earlier. Manchester United dominated in the early minutes with Bruno Fernandes scoring a lucky goal just 6 minutes into the game. Bruno curl his strike from the edge of the Villa box which stumbled through goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s legs, which could have been an easy save. In the second half, Fernandes scored another goal after a sloppy mistake from midfielder Morgan Sanson, to give the visitors a 0-2 lead.
But Gerrard introduced Phillipe Coutinho immediately after that goal in the place of Morgan Sanson. Just nine minutes later, Coutinho skills past United’s defence and slides a sharp pass to Jacob Ramsey, who scored a wonderful goal past De Gea. Four minutes later, Buendia releases Ramsey down the left-flank on a counter-attack, the latter slide the long-range cross in the box to Coutinho, who tapped in an easy goal past De Gea. Two goals in 5 minutes leveled the game 2-2 but Villans wanted another one and dominated the rest of the game.
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This was an impressivet start from both Coutinho and Digne against Manchester United. Aston Villa are Everton away in their next match a week later where fans will witness a full-debut for Coutinho and Digne returning to the Goodison Park.