Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal in the Spanish first
division since his return to Barcelona, to help his team to a 1-1
draw with its distinguished guest Seville, on Sunday, to waste
the Catalan team his first points under coach Ronald Koeman.
Sevilla, the European champions, advanced early through Dutch
striker Luc de Jong after he took advantage of a weak header to
hit the goalkeeper Neto.
But Barcelona equalized less than two minutes later when
Coutinho, the most expensive player in the club’s history, who
spent the last season on loan to Bayern Munich, acted quickly
with Lionel Messi’s pass that changed direction and hit his way.
Antoine Griezmann missed a dangerous opportunity to put
Barcelona ahead, while midfielder Frenkie de Jong missed a late
chance in the second half from inside the penalty area.
Seville could have grabbed the victory, but Moroccan Youssef
Nassiri’s shot changed direction, hitting the crossbar, before
failing to header in front of Neto.
Barcelona and Seville have 7 points from 3 games in the fifth
and sixth places, while the defending champion Real Madrid
tops the table with 10 points from 4 games.
