At Liverpool, he was known as The Magician, but at Barcelona, he was regarded as a curse due to his £142 million price tag. Philippe Countinho looked a man reborn here at Villa Park, making an extraordinary cameo debut, a man revitalised, an iconic player once more and, in the warm embrace of a fan base desperate to love him, a wizard reborn.
Manchester United had just taken a two-goal lead when he came on for his Villa debut and return to the Premier League on 68 minutes. He'd been warming up for a while, and we were expecting him to make a big entrance. Nonetheless, by the time he arrived, on the pitch,
Bruno Fernandes had just driven in United's second goal, and his arrival felt like a whimper, perhaps a footnote.
Even Ralf Rangnick must have been hoping for a decent performance and result to analyze in his video booth this weekend. Enter the enigmatic long-lost magician. Coutinho was not having any of it. Villa were level twenty minutes later, pressing for a winner and inspired by a delightful assist and goal from the Brazilian.
Villa would have to be content with a draw. After all, a magician's powers do not return all at once. There are constraints. But, at times during the frantic finale, it seemed as if his hypnotic personality would engineer the most dramatic victory.
Rangnick is a wuss. Even when United is better – as they were here – they end up looking bad. If the performance was good, the inability to maintain a lead suggested a team lacking confidence as it lumbered towards a Europa League spot. If they're fortunate.
You have a feeling Ralf Rangnick prefers it this way. Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford had both been sidelined due to injuries. Harry Maguire, who is still working his way back to full fitness, was on the bench, but Rangnck chose to leave Jadon Sancho on the bench. Indeed, the bench featured a slew of high-priced signings, many of whom arrived at the club heralded as the final piece in the complex jigsaw that will see the team restored to greatness.
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