The Barcelona fans had been made to wait. After the Catalan club missed out on signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in August, the Brazilian was finally signed by the Blaugrana earlier this month and following a 20-day injury layoff, he belatedly made his debut on Thursday.
Barca boss Ernesto Valverde had hinted earlier in the week that the Brazilian could feature following his €160m move from Anfield, yet there was no place for the 25-year-old in the starting line-up against Espanyol at Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana, winners of the Copa del Rey in each of Luis Enrique's three seasons in charge, were looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit after last week's narrow loss at Cornella to seal their place in the semi-finals.