Philippe Coutinho rescues point for Aston Villa in debut

Aston Villa erased a late two-goal deficit following the introduction of new signing Philippe Coutinho in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Villa Park.

The on-loan attacker, brought on as a substitute in the 68th minute, set up Jacob Ramsey’s 77th-minute goal before scoring the equalizer seven minutes later.

After a torrid first half in which the hosts fell behind in the sixth minute, Villa looked a much brighter side in the second half but struggled to convert attacking sequences.

Coutinho added that extra bit of quality in the final third that yielded two goals from inside the United box.

The Brazilian gelled with both Ramsey and Emi Buendia in his brief cameo and gave supporters a glimpse of what’s hopefully to come in the second half of the season.

Coutinho transforms Villa’s attack entirely

Despite playing only 23 minutes as a substitute, Coutinho generated a staggering 0.8 expected goals (xG) rating, the highest of any player in the match.

Villa as a team generated 1.93 expected goals to United’s 1.27, further proving just how vital Coutinho’s involvement was in rescuing a point.

In addition to beefing up Villa’s quality in the final third, Coutinho linked up well with Ramsey, who did well to get in and around the Brazilian.

If Steven Gerrard plays Coutinho on the left side of attack regularly, Ramsey will have more opportunities to link up with him. With Lucas Digne providing additional support on that side of the pitch, we could see an overload similar to that of early 2020-21 Villa with the trio of Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley, and Matt Targett causing opponents fits weekly.

Further, Buendia had perhaps his best game for Villa on Sunday and led all players in final-third passes (30), final-third entries (9), take ons completed (4), and chances created (4).

Responding to suggestions that Coutinho was brought in to replace Buendia in the XI, Gerrard said last week that “we haven’t brought in anyone to replace Buendia. He’s a big player for us.”

The gaffer later added that the two had “been shining in training together,” signaling his belief that the duo will work in tandem moving forward.