Barcelona faced Levante on Thursday night in the last-16 round of matches in this season’s Copa del Rey.

The game ended 2-1 and the result was frankly not what many would have predicted at the start of the match.

Levante cruised to an early lead and eventually made it 2-0, making the Catalans labor hard to get something from the game.

In the end, a turnaround was impossible as they could manage only a late goal from Philippe Coutinho from 18-yards.

The Brazilian joined Barcelona last year and this season has proven to be a tough one for him as he battles for game time.

Coutinho is a more attack-minded player, and this means that he has to battle with Ousmane Dembele, Munir and Malcom for a place in the starting XI.

With Dembele’s form, it has been no surprise to see Ernesto Valverde constantly give him the nod ahead of Coutinho.

When asked about Coutinho who has been absent in the last four league games, Valverde brushed it off as a no-issue.

He said: “Everyone was constantly asking about Dembele when he wasn’t playing.”

“Now Coutinho plays and the reverse is the case.”

“Players need to work hard to make sure the situation changes (to favor them).”

“They (Dembele and Coutinho) both played (yesterday night) and if one person isn’t happy, they must battle to change things.”

“But, come on, one or the other is almost always playing.”

The post Valverde’s reply to Coutinho’s lack of game time appeared first on SOCCERINFOMANIA.