BARCELONA (REUTERS) - Barcelona shelled out a club record €160 million (S$250 million) to prise Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, yet one year on from his signing, the Brazilian is struggling to get a game while his former side are thriving in his absence.
Coutinho, the third most expensive player in the world behind Paris St Germain's Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, made a flying start to his Barcelona career with 10 goals in his first five months, giving the team a more direct outlet in midfield and an extra threat with his impressive long-range shooting.
But his impact has waned. He has failed to start any of the La Liga leaders' last three league games, falling behind Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal and French forward Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order.
Coach Ernesto Valverde has stopped short of publicly criticising the player, and neglected to say whether he had a preference for Coutinho or Dembele, the club's second most expensive acquisition at 105 million euros.
"It's a long way from being a problem having them both. It's an advantage," Valverde said last month.
"The coach is pro-Barca, he wants the team to win."
Valverde's recent team selections, however, may offer a clue to his thinking.
Â
Â
There was no place for Coutinho when Valverde fielded an unorthodox 3-5-2 formation in the recent 5-0 hammering of Levante, while he also left the Brazilian out when playing his usual 4-3-3 shape in victories over Espanyol and Celta Vigo.
The coach did pick Coutinho for a visit to Rayo Vallecano in November, but when he saw his side losing 2-1 at one of the weakest teams in the top flight, he hauled off the Brazilian and later brought on Dembele, who scored as Barca pulled off a dramatic 3-2 victory.
In the last three league outings, Valverde has continued to show faith in Dembele, despite the French youngster running into trouble for turning up late to training.
With the lightning quick forward forming a blistering attacking trident with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and the highly-experienced Vidal slotting comfortably into the midfield three, Coutinho has been forced to make do with cameo appearances from the bench.
It is quite the fall from grace for a player many believed was signed as the long-term successor to Andres Iniesta, who ended 16 trophy-laden seasons with Barca last May to see out his career in Japan.
With Liverpool sitting four points clear at the top of the Premier League, Coutinho may be wondering on Sunday's anniversary of his transfer from Anfield to the Nou Camp whether it was quite the dream move he had imagined at the time.
Football: 'We want Messi to always be at Barca', says club
Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Pep Guardiola wants the pain of Manchester City's gut-wrenching Champions League elimination at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur to inspire a charge for an unprecedented domestic treble.
Guardiola hopes Champions League pain spurs on Manchester
LONDON • Eden Hazard's future at Chelsea seems to be in severe doubt after the forward admitted that he has come to a decision about his next step, with a move to Real Madrid thought to be his
'I think it's goodbye': Hazard ready to leave Chelsea after
Manchester: Manchester City celebrated their domestic treble with an open-top bus parade on Monday, drawing an estimated 100,000 fans to the streets of the city centre. Pep Guardiola's City side
Treble winners Man City enjoy parade - msn.com
Chelsea's Italian head coach Maurizio Sarri shouts instructions to his players from the touchline. / AFP Chelsea boss Sarri baffled by 6-0 humbling at Man City
Chelsea boss Sarri baffled by 6-0 humbling at Man City
Liverpool put aside talk of title-race jitters as they returned to the top of the Premier League with a confident 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday. The win, secured with goals
Liverpool back on top after 3-0 win over Bournemouth
i'm saying from the players to the commissioner, the nfl, ever since last season, i'm a football fanatic, i love this game, most aricans do, it is part of our dna, it is really too bad that the nfl has infected the game with so much protest and so much political unnecessary political injections and unfortunately they're doing it again here. >> so, charles, i'm going to go out on a limb and say
Cam Newton Crying About Unfair Treatment From Nfl Officials
MANCHESTER, England (REUTERS) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrated his first game as permanent Manchester United manager with a 2-1 Premier League win over Watford at Old Trafford on Saturday (March
Manchester United 2-1 Watford: Rashford and Martial give
Thierry Henry's coaching stint at AS Monaco could already be over, with the club deciding to suspend the former France striker from his duties on Thursday while it makes a final decision on his
Henry set to lose Monaco job | Free Malaysia Today
Pep Guardiola is not concerned about the way his Manchester City players use social media, despite a post from Kyle Walker that appeared to mock Premier League title rivals Liverpool. Walker posted a picture of Harry Maguire on Twitter after the Leicester defender’s equaliser secured a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Wednesday, meaning that
Guardiola not worried about Man City players' social media
Modric criticises Ballon d'Or gala snub by Messi, Ronaldo. Croatian captain Modric broke Messi and Ronaldo's decade-long stranglehold on the prestigious prize last month. as well as to
Modric criticises Messi, Ronaldo for Ballon d'Or gala snub
Football: Singapore Under-22s hold group top seeds North Korea to keep AFC Championship hopes alive Mar 24, 2019, 3:05 pm Football: Sport Singapore enters three-year partnership with Bayern Munich
SportSG inks 3-year partnership with FC Bayern Munich
watch soccer online free streaming live liverpool
watch coppa america live streaming hd
watch coppa america live streaming eng
where to watch champions league live streaming
watch indian premier league live stream online
free live football streams watch live streaming tv premier league
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch soccer online free streaming live first row
how to watch soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch soccer online free streaming live canada
watch soccer games online free streaming live
watch live streaming soccer online espn3
watch soccer world cup live streaming
watch premier league live stream hd
watch live soccer online free streaming now
watch uefa champions league quarter final draw live streaming
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming online free
watch coppa america live streaming juventus
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
watch champions league live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming xbox one
how to watch premier league live streaming
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming
watch soccer live streaming zee tv
watch coppa america live streaming quality
watch champions league live streaming bola
watch champions league live streaming match
super soccer tv live streaming piala dunia
watch champions league live streaming eng
watch champions league live streaming now
watch champions league live stream uk
live ipl live streaming- watch indian premier league 2013 online
watch premier league live streaming zimbabwe
super soccer tv live streaming indonesia
watch coppa america live streaming india
where to watch free live soccer streaming online
watch coppa america live streaming direct
watch soccer live stream apk
watch coppa america live streaming without cable
watch coppa america live streaming barcelona
watch soccer live football streaming - ronaldo7.net
watch champions league live streaming juventus
live football watch free live football streaming free soccer
watch soccer online free streaming live youtube
watch coppa america live streaming youtube
soccer tv live football streaming reddit
watch soccer live live football streaming cr7
watch live streaming soccer manchester united
watch premier league live streaming zee tv
watch premier league stream reddit
watch coppa america live streaming indonesia
watch coppa america live streaming online free
watch live soccer streaming free android
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch soccer live streaming qatar vs philippines
watch premier league live streaming yify
watch champions league live streaming cricfree
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming youtube
watch soccer online free streaming live arabic
watch coppa america live streaming sctv
watch coppa america live streaming hotstar
watch live soccer game today
watch champions league live streaming bt sport
watch premier league live streaming online - soccer portal
super soccer tv live streaming napoli vs juventus
watch coppa america live streaming crictime
watch champions league live streaming now tv
watch soccer live streaming reddit
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online
watch soccer live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch champions league live stream gratis
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch champions league live streaming xfinity
watch coppa america live streaming app
watch soccer online free streaming live without registration
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch english premier league live streaming free
watch live english premier league online free streaming
watch coppa america live streaming live free
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch champions league simulcast live stream
watch soccer games live stream free
watch premier league live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming ronaldo7
how to watch champions league live streaming
free watch champions league live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming mobile
watch hd soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming bola
where to watch premier league live streaming
watch champions league live streaming bein sport
watch live soccer game barcelona vs real madrid
watch coppa america live streaming yify
live tv soccer live stream - live3s.com
watch english premier league live streaming online
watch coppa america live streaming match
watch coppa america live streaming indosiar
watch soccer online free streaming live south africa
watch champions league live streaming putlockers
watch premier league darts live stream
watch champions league live streaming ptv sports
watch soccer live stream app
watch champions league final live streaming
watch champions league live streaming espn
watch coppa america live streaming pc
watch uefa champions league live streaming sportek
watch premier league live streaming xfinity
watch soccer saturday live stream
watch premier league live streaming free
watch everton vs tottenham live soccer streaming
watch soccer online free streaming live hd
watch live streaming soccer games
watch champions league live streaming now free
watch soccer game live espn
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch premier league live streaming online
watch real madrid vs juventus live streaming of champions league
watch arsenal southampton premier league live stream
watch champions league live streaming canada
watch soccer live streaming zimbabwe
super soccer tv live streaming garuda select
watch premier league live streaming youtube
#oudmehta #champion #manchesterunited #Barca #soccermemes #BMW #freekicks #streamingbolaid #chocolate #premierleague #chocolatecoffee #football #midnight #hotcoffee #coys #footballschedule #tokyo #knuckleball #mane #league2 #Fcb #pagani #footballfans #lovefootball #premierleague #valcea #oasisengland #zidane #liverpoolfc #arsenalfantv #messi #leomessi #oasisofficial #england #bundesliga #sixtimes #golazo #crossfit #MyDubai #risate #championsleague #jadwalbolahariini #gooners #footballmeme #linkstreaming #satira #uefanationsleague #manunited #nutmeg #rockstar #4Series #kopisusu #footballstreaming #433skills #commento #kickoff #thomasmeunier #realmadrid #GarageCafeDxb #gunners #seriea #winner #freekickerz #liverpoolfans #noelgallagher #afcnews #goal #portsmouthfc #romania #myfootballuniverse #coffeebreak #hoffenhiem #americanfootball #comico #ucl #cr7 #zinedinezidane #manchestercity #adidasslipon #paulmcartney #henderson #barcelona #realmadridcf #bayernmunich #football #copaamerica #soccer #girlsniteout #manchestercity #panini #cristianoronaldo #liverpool #freekick
No comments:
Post a Comment