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Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho was subjected to brutal trolling after his team lost 2-1 against Stevenage in the FA Cup on Sunday (January 8) night.
The former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder was taken off in the 66th minute following a sub-par outing. Coutinho played a role in Villa's opener and laid out a key pass, but had just one shot on target, completed zero dibbles and lost both his ground duels.
Stevenage's Twitter account sensed the opportunity to take a dig at the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League winner when he was substituted and posted:
"The substitution took longer than usual as they had to dig him out of Luther James-Wildin's back pocket."
Stevenage right-back Luther James-Wildin had an easy night containing Coutinho, whose team failed to win the game despite taking the lead in the 16th minute. It was a memorable night for the Football League Two side, who will face EFL Championship side Stoke City in the next round.
Unai Emery's Aston Villa have been in good form under the Spanish boss, which would have also made the victory sweeter for Stevenage and their fans. Former Villa forward Dion Dublin heaped praise on the English fourth-tier side and said on BBC Radio Five Live:
"This is the stuff of the wildest dreams for Stevenage fans. They would have thought, come to Villa, this would be their final. They have defended so well. They fully deserve to go through."
Philippe Coutinho's career trajectory at Aston Villa has not been pretty
Philippe Coutinho's career at Aston Villa began on a shining note when he made the loan switch from Barcelona under former boss Steven Gerrard. However, the trajectory has fallen off since and he appears to be nothing more than a passenger in most games.
He has a total of five goals and three assists in 36 games for Villa and at 30, it is difficult to see him becoming the player who set the stage alight at Liverpool.
Coutinho racked up 54 goals and 45 assists for the Reds in 201 appearances before joining Barcelona for a club-record fee of £142 million. The Brazilian playmaker failed to replicate his form at the Nou Camp, registering 25 goals and 14 assists in 106 games for the Blaugrana.
Having been dropped from Brazil's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well, it's difficult to see how and when Coutinho will find his magical touch again.
