Barcelona: Ousmane Dembele must fine-tune his form

Since returning from injury, Ousmane Dembele has not been the player that once shined at Dortmund but with time he should be back to his lethal ways.

Although the Frenchman netted a stunning goal to put Barcelona 2-0 up in the first half, Ousmane Dembele struggled on the big stage against Chelsea. Overall, he will need to fine-tune his form if he hopes to be incorporated in Ernesto Valverde’s plans for future games. The start of his development may have begun with the Chelsea-Barcelona Champions League tie.

Barcelona’s incredible 3-0 victory over the Blues in the Champions League was full of surprises, and the first was Dembele’s call-up to start alongside Lionel Messi and Co. The 4-4-3 formation with Dembele slightly behind Messi and Luis Suarez got fans across the globe even more anxious for the initial whistle to be blown. A similar line-up was executed at Malaga several days before, in which the youngster played arguably his best match ever in the Barca kit. Therefore, everything indicated for a striking performance from Dembele.

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However, his 67 minutes in front of a full packed Camp Nou had both flashes of brilliance and of haziness. Yes, he did score an incredible goal in which most players would most likely miss due to the significant difference of speed between the ball and the footballer, making it very difficult to control and find the right accuracy. But the Frenchman succeeded and he did it with style, smashing the ball home, marking his first ever Barca goal.

And yes, he did make a vital sliding tackle to deny Marcos Alonso’s clear chance in the second half, but throughout his time on the pitch, he looked a bit lost and it seemed as if the nerves were getting to him. His sluggish positioning allowed his opponents to cover up his space, which resulted in Messi constantly ordering the player around during the match.

Yet, it only makes sense for a 20-year-old boy to feel this massive pressure of playing in such a high-level match but let’s not forget that the club spent a whopping amount of money on the French international precisely for these types of games. Nonetheless, I certainly applaud him for being brave and not shying away from the ball. He attempted to take on his rivals, but the youngster needs to focus on tuning up his form if he hopes to get called-up again for these big nights.

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Overall, Ousmane Dembele needs some time to improve his game with Barca. With the final stretch of the season upcoming, every match becomes decisive. Barca will be counting on their big money signing to show up and make worth of his 105 million euro transfer. Although there is the lack of Philippe Coutinho’s services in the Champions League, the youngster will get more opportunities on the pitch. Time will tell if the Frenchman will gain his set position in the competition.