La Liga giants Barcelona spent a lot to bring in quality players in the past few seasons but the big-money signings did not pay off. They produced disappointing performances or suffered due to physical fitness at the club. Ousmane Dembele arrives from Borussia Dortmund for 105 million euros but remained in the sidelines owing to recurring injuries. Another example is former Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann who join the club a season ago but is yet to settle into the club. The Frenchman has not delivered any breakthrough performances for Barcelona.
Coutinho makes his mark at Barcelona
Unlike the other two, Phillipe Coutinho seems to have revived his career at Barcelona after his loan spell at Bayern Munich. The Brazilian completed his dream move to play for the Catalan outfit in 2018 but could make an early impact playing out of position. He eventually was out of favor at Barcelona when the German champions took the opportunity to sign the player for a year. Coutinho regained his form drawing stellar performances at the Allianz Arena as the Bavarians won the treble.
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Coutinho was a member of the squad which nailed Barcelona 2-8 at Lisbon as he scored 2 goals against his parent club along with providing an assist too. The midfield maestro has returned the club with better physique as he explained there were intense routines at Bayern Munich. It seems that Coutinho has developed an onus to improve his game and show what he is really made up of. New manager Ronald Koeman has given him the opportunity to shine for Barca playing him at his natural centre attacking midfield role.
Barcelona on the right path
Now, he can flourish creating chances with ample of through balls and crosses into the box. Coutinho expressed his feeling to Sport that he has kicked off the season on a high and will continue to maintain the run of his good form. Moreover, the 28-year-old seems to fit well into the tactics of Ronald Koeman and has already registered his first goal of the season. Barcelona has won two of the three competitive fixtures using the new formation 4-2-3-1 only to be stalled in a draw by Sevilla. The Blaugrana currently sit fifth in the league table scoring seven points. They will face Getafe in their next match before Champions League draws close at the end of the International break.
