Philippe Coutinho finally made his Barcelona debut on Thursday night, with the former Liverpool playmaker emerging from the bench during his side’s 2-0 Copa Del Rey victory over Espanyol.
The £142million Brazilian played the final 22 minutes of the game at the Nou Camp, coming on with his side already 2-0 up.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the hosts on nine minutes, courtesy of a close-ranger header at the back stick….
Then, with 25 minutes gone, Lionel Messi netted the 4,000th goal ever scored at the Nou Camp, via a deflected effort.
Not one of Messi’s finest but it does mean that, of the 4,000 goals scored at Barca’s stadium since they moved in in 1957, an impressive 10% have been either scored or assisted by the Argentinian superstar.
In his cameo role, Coutinho almost notched himself an assist, only for Suarez’s shot to be saved by Pau Lopez.
After winning 1-0 in the first-leg, Quique Sanchez Flores’ Espanyol team needed just one goal to force the game into extra-time.
Unfortunately for the former Watford boss, Barca would hold on to book their place in the last four of the cup with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Prior to the game, Javier Mascherano said his goodbyes to the Barca faithful ahead of his move to China.
However, in Coutinho, the Nou Camp have a new superstar to cherish for years to come.