sport news Philippe Coutinho falters on Liverpool reunion as Luis Suarez seizes moment to ...

Philippe Coutinho suffers stage fright on Liverpool reunion but Luis Suarez seizes moment to haunt his old side as Barcelona take control of semi-final tie Philippe Coutinho struggled to perform against his old club Liverpool The Brazilian did not impact the match at all and was hooked after an hour Luis Suarez, on the other hand, was never going to suffer from stage fright The striker scored the opener and was a nuisance all night as Barca won 3-0

By Dominic King for the Daily Mail

Published: 21:55 BST, 1 May 2019 | Updated: 22:00 BST, 1 May 2019

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It is always the way when old friends are reunited. Some act like nothing has ever changed and carry on as they did before; others are awkward and reserved, unsure of what to do.

As Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho stood a few yards apart, waiting for the blockbuster Champions League semi-final to begin, you could see the two varying reactions of two very different men as they came face-to-face with Liverpool for the first time since leaving Anfield.

Suarez was never going to suffer stage fright and never going to let the good times he had on Merseyside affect him. He laughed and joked with James Milner in the seconds before kick-off but then the whistle went and he was transformed.

Philippe Coutinho suffered stage fright against his old club Liverpool on Wednesday night

Philippe Coutinho suffered stage fright against his old club Liverpool on Wednesday night

Snapping and snarling, chasing and arguing, the Uruguayan was exactly how the Liverpool fans remembered him. Suarez is the best No 9 in world football and he would go on to show why when opening the scoring after 26 minutes with a terrific finish.

Nobody could say Liverpool hadn't been warned. On these pages last Saturday, he promised that he would celebrate if he got a goal and he was true to his word. Quite right, too. This is the highest level of football, the feelings of others don't matter when chasing the biggest prize.

So Suarez did what Suarez used to do. But what about Coutinho?

In that little episode, as Suarez and Milner nudged shoulders, Coutinho stretched his hamstrings and twisted his hips; he fidgeted and clasped his hands together in the manner of a pupil who was about to take a test he

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