Let's not beat around the bush, Philippe Coutinho had another afternoon to forget for Barcelona during their win over Girona.It's become common knowledge that the Blaugrana's record signing has come down with 'second season syndrome' and the fact his performances are being watched even closer, isn't exactly helping.Sunday afternoon marked a brilliant opportunity for Coutinho to make a positive impression on Ernesto Valverde with Ousmane Dembele missing the trip to Estadi Montilivi.Goals from Nelson Semedo and Lionel Messi ensured that Barcelona took all three points, but Coutinho missed a number of glorious opportunities to find the back of the net.Many supporters believe a goal from open play would be the key to Coutinho regaining his confidence and he could have done just that after a superb pass from Messi in the first-half.
Girona 0-2 Barcelona
Nevertheless, he failed to beat Bono with a tame one-on-one finish, something Messi didn't struggle with when he scored a delightful chip after the break.
And even more glaring miss came during the close stages of the match, with Coutinho miscuing after rounding the goalkeeper.
As a result, there was plenty of criticism for Coutinho from journalists after the game as well as Barcelona fans on Twitter.
Worrying point about Coutinho
But aside from all the expected hyperbole, many made an interesting point about Coutinho 'third-wheeling' on the left wing, therefore disrupting Messi and Jordi Alba's sensational partnership.
Journalist Rik Sharma made that very point in his match report for Goal and plenty of supporters will agree with him.
He wrote: "Operating on the left of the attack there were a couple of occasions where it just seemed like Coutinho was in the way, the third-wheel, as Messi and Jordi Alba tried to link up on the left.
"The connection between Messi and Alba has long been a source of Barcelona joy and as they tried to combine in the second half Coutinho had to scurry out of the way."
Check out Barcelona fans making the same point below:
Considering how important the Messi-Alba relationship has been for Barcelona over the years, it's certainly not ideal to have Coutinho offsetting their flow.
Thankfully the Brazilian didn't tread on their toes for the entire game with Messi finding the net from - you guessed it - a pass from Alba.
Nevertheless, there seems to be great displeasure with Coutinho being used on the left wing and fans would much prefer to see Dembele given more game-time.
Nothing will go right for the former Liverpool man right and getting in the way of Messi certainly won't help.
Do you think Coutinho has a future at Barcelona? Have your say in the comments section below.