By Joe Bernstein for MailOnline
Published: 22:20 BST, 16 April 2019 | Updated: 22:34 BST, 16 April 2019
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Former Liverpool stars Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho would have taken extra pleasure ridding Manchester United from the Champions League on Tuesday night.
For Coutinho, whose Barcelona future has been under scrutiny, the joy of scoring a beautiful third goal will have been an added relief.
The affection Lionel Messi showed him during the celebrations indicated Coutinho remains a popular member of the Barca team and the Brazilian responded to his critics by cupping his hand to his ears.
Philippe Coutinho scored a screamer to make it 3-0 against Manchester United on Tuesday
Even better for him and Suarez is that an emotional return to Anfield now awaits for a Champions League semi-final - provided Jurgen Klopp’s side don’t coll their second leg against Porto.
Suarez and Coutinho were Liverpool’s key players in their thrilling 2014 title chasing team – Koppites must hope their dismantling of Manchester is an omen for their own race this season against City.
But it is a different Suarez and Coutinho in Barca colours to the players adored on Merseyside signed by Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers.
At Liverpool, they were the go-to players, with the pressure on them every week to deliver.
Coutinho celebrates with Lionel Messi (left) after the Argentine breaks the deadlock
With Barcelona, they are the sideshow to Lionel Messi. It can create some frustration but overall the South American pair are responding well to servicing the greatest player in the world, and then exploiting the space when United’s defenders concentrated too much on the Argentine.
It’s one of the reasons they were both keen to go to the
