The Brazilian needed less than two minutes to get his team off the mark in north London, banishing memories of a disastrous domestic week

Barcelona wasted no time in making their presence felt in Wednesday’s Champions League date at Wembley by scoring their quickest goal in the competition for 13 years. 

The Catalans were keen to bounce back against Tottenham after a week to forget domestically. 

Two draws and a defeat in the space of six days undermined a fine start to the season for Ernesto Valverde’s men as well as eroding their lead over Real Madrid at the Liga summit. 

Unfortunately for Spurs, the Londoners were the victims of a Barca backlash as Philippe Coutinho needed less than two minutes to put the visitors ahead. 

Coutinho was left with a simple finish after Hugo Lloris’ reckless charge out to meet Jordi Alba had left the net unguarded, and the Brazilian made no mistake to tuck away the first of the game. 

The clock at Wembley, moreover, showed just 92 seconds when the ball crossed the line, making the goal one of Barca’s fastest in Champions League history. 

Mark van Bommel was the last man to hit the target in such rapid fashion, scoring for Barcelona after a mere 36 seconds back in November 2005 against Panathinaikos. 

Coutinho followed up that early flourish by playing in Ivan Rakitic for Barcelona’s second within the first half hour of play. 

With a goal and an assist already at Wembley, his record against Spurs in the Barca shirt is already far superior to his time at Liverpool, during which he struggled to impose himself against the Londoners.

Lionel Messi, who played in a fine ball to Alba to get the move going, is now Barcelona’s sole survivor from the 2005-6 Champions League campaign where Van Bommel hit that record-breaking goal, which was eventually won by Frank Rijkaard’s Blaugrana charges. 

With Coutinho making the difference in Europe having been cup-tied for last season’s knockout stages, will lightning strike again this year for the Catalans in Europe?