Philippe Coutinho confessed he endured "many ups and downs" at Barcelona as he reflected on his dream Aston Villa debut against Manchester United.
The Brazilian playmaker, 29, came off the bench to score a deserved equaliser for Villa as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Red Devils on Saturday evening.
Coutinho arrived at the back post to poke in Jacob Ramsey's cross in the 81st minute after the Englishman pulled one back with a fine strike moments earlier.
Bruno Fernandes ' double gave the visitors a commanding lead at Villa Park but Coutinho's introduction midway through the second half helped transform the match.
The former Liverpool star joined Villa on a short-term loan from Barca on Wednesday and he admitted he "missed the Premier League " during his four years in Spain.
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"I missed these games. I missed the Premier League," Coutinho told Sky Sports . "Like I said before, I'm very happy to be here, to meet my new teammates.
"So, it was a good start. I think we had a good game. We kept believing until the end we could win the game, but we didn't lose and we move on."
Quizzed on his challenging spell at Camp Nou following a £142million transfer from Liverpool in January 2018, Coutinho confessed: "[There were] Many ups and downs, but it's already in the past.
"I'm here to focus on the objectives of the club, the manager and I want to do a good job to help my teammates and the club."
Coutinho's transfer to the La Liga giants did not pan out as expected and his most-successful season in recent years actually came while on loan at Bayern Munich, where he won the treble.
Now back in England and working under former teammate Steven Gerrard, he declared he is "very happy" and driven to "be in better shape".
Asked if he was nervous making his debut for the Midlands club, Coutinho responded: "Yes, a little bit! Like always, I don't speak English very well.
"I prefer to play, to be on the pitch than, you know, to keep saying, keep talking.
"So, I'm happy. It was the first game, so we move on. I want to work hard to improve and be in better shape."
Coutinho added: "I'm happy to play with him [Ramsey], to all the guys here. They are really good. I'm happy, I'm very happy to be here again."
Villa have the option to buy Coutinho from Barcelona for £33million at the end of the season when his loan spell comes to an end.
