It wasn’t the perfect Champions League night for Liverpool against Sevilla but there were certainly some positives to take away from the 2-2 draw.

While the Reds were poor defensively once again, they looked electric going forward and should have won the match rather comfortably.

Instead, they kicked off their Champions League campaign with a point against the side that beat them in the 2016 Europa League final.

So, what are the positives for a Liverpool side that dominated the match, missed a penalty for the chance to go 3-1 up and ended up with 10 men?

The return of Philippe Coutinho, of course.

The Brazilian hadn’t played for Liverpool before the Sevilla clash, complaining of a back injury at the start of the campaign.

But, after failing to land his dream move to Barcelona in the transfer window, he has returned to the fold.

Coutinho came on in the 75th minute with the scores already at 2-2 as he tried to become the hero. It wasn’t to be but Liverpool fans gave him a terrific reception when he entered the fray.

Barca won't move for him in January

While he may not have got his move this summer, it surely won’t be too far into the future that Coutinho becomes a Barcelona player.

But it won’t be happening in January.

Why?

Because of that substitute appearance he made on Wednesday night.

As Coutinho played in the Champions League for Liverpool, it means he would be cup-tied in Europe's elite competition if he signed for Barcelona later this season.

And, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, that means they won’t attempt to sign him in January.

They claim that the moment Coutinho was substituted on, Barca decided to end all interest in signing him this winter. They report that if there was any possibility of the Catalan club making another attempt to snap him up in January, that has now disappeared.

So, it seems that no matter what happens this season, Coutinho will remain a Liverpool player until next summer at least.