Barcelona enters Copa del Rey final, Coutinho scores opener
Philippe Coutinho
"For me it is my first final, so it is a very special moment," said Coutinho after the match
Barcelona entered the finals of Copa Del Reyafter defeating Valencia in the second leg of semi-finals on Thursday at Mestalla.
Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal for the team andopened his account for Barcelona.
The Brazilian super start made an impact by netting the ball in the 47th minute of the game, just within 4 minutes after his introduction to the game.
Phil teamed up with his former Liverpool buddy Luis Suarez and converted a excellent cross to put the holders 1-0 up and after that Ivan Rakitic scored in the 87th minute to take an unescapable lead to enter the finals of Copa Del Rey with a high.
"For me it is my first final, so it is a very special moment," Coutinho told Spanish TV station Gol.
"I am very happy. I had been searching for this goal in my first few matches. Today I got it and it helped the team get through to the final," he added.
Earlier, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde had opted for Andre Gomes instead of Coutinho but amid the game the coachreplaced ineffective Gomes in the second half with the 160 million-euro worth Coutinho.
Winners of the trophy in each of the last three campaigns, the Catalans will face Sevilla in the final set for the weekend of April 21 and 22 as Sevilla beat Leganes 2-0 on Wednesday to go through 3-1 on aggregate.