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Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal for Barcelona against Valencia in the second leg of the Copa del Rey Semi-final on Thursday. This was his fifth appearance for the Catalan club (two in the starting line-up in La Liga and three as a substitute in the Copa del Rey). The former Liverpool player moved to Barcelona in January for £142 million.
Barcelona Head Coach Ernesto Valverde brought Coutinho off the bench to replace midfielder Andre Gomes at halftime. Within minutes, the Brazilian footballer turned the direction of the game by breaking the deadlock.
The former Liverpool forward found the net by sliding in the low cross from the Uruguayan Striker Luis Suarez at the back post. Co-Incidentally, Suarez had also assisted Coutinho's first goal at Liverpool.
After the game, Coutinho modestly said “It's a very happy day. I was looking for the goal in the first few games and today I got it and, most importantly, helped the team reach the final. It's my first final and it's a special and important moment for me, but there are a lot of moments to play before the final.”
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Notably, Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina made his debut in the second half of the match, when he was substituted for Spanish defender Gerard Pique, who suffered a muscle fatigue in the game.
Valverde was glad about his team’s performance in the 2-0 victory over Valencia at Mestalla. As a result, Barcelona secured a place in the final for the fifth consecutive time, in what was, perhaps, the best birthday present for their manager, as he turned 54. He said, “Barca have been used to playing finals in recent years, but not so much in my case.”
On that note, let's have a look at the post-match reaction of both, Coutinho and Yerry.
The football fraternity took to Twitter, to congratulate both of them. Here is a collection of some of those tweets.
Collection of tweets on Coutinho's first goal.
Twitter also reacted to Yerry Mina's debut game.
