When Philippe Coutinho was replaced by a victorious Aston Villa during their FA Cup match on Sunday, Stevenage mocked him for his performance.
However, the League Two club scored twice in the dying seconds to secure a historic upset in England’s premier cup tournament, thus the joke was firmly on the Premier League team.
When Coutinho was replaced by manager Unai Emery in the 66th minute, Villa had the advantage thanks to a goal by Morgan Sanson in the opening period. In his place, Emi Buendia took over.
Stevenage tweeted:
‘Philippe Coutinho comes off. The substitution took longer than usual as they had to dig him out of Luther James-Wildin’s back pocket.’
By taking advantage of Leander Dendoncker’s dismissal to first draw even through Jamie Reid’s penalty and then win it two minutes later through Dean Campbell, the Boro turned the game around.
In an effort to advance further in the coveted national event, Stevenage will now travel to Stoke City of the Championship in three weeks.
The tweet praising his performance against Coutinho, however, sparked some debate due to its timing (during Stevenage’s loss), as well as plaudits for its perceived accuracy and sense of humor directed directly at a significant target.
Since joining Villa late last year, Coutinho, a former playmaker for Liverpool and Barcelona, has not been in any Premier League games under Emery, and his effort against Stevenage was far from impressive.
The South American powerhouse Corinthians has expressed interest in using the Brazilian on loan in his native country for the next Serie A campaign.
With games against Leeds United and Southampton remaining in the month of January, Aston Villa’s attention will once again be on their Premier League campaign.
