Barcelona: Ousmane Dembele continues remarkable run of form

Ousmane Dembele has had to deal with his fair share of criticism, mostly from the Catalan press, but his talent is there for all to see.

Barcelona needed to halt their two-game winless run and retake top place in the league at the weekend against a struggling Villarreal side that had the potential to frustrate. Ousmane Dembele, once again, provided the moment of creativity to break the deadlock as he found Gerard Pique in the box with a cross after the ball had come back to him from his own corner. It was a precise inswinging ball that found the sweet spot between the defence and the goalkeeper in which they were both unable to deal with it.

This assist meant it was the sixth game out of the last seven in which he has scored or assisted, not including the Real Betis game where he was left out due to off-field issues. Just a few minutes later he provided another reminder of his ability with a stunning first-time chip over the defence perfectly into the path of Jordi Alba, on the left flank, from which Lionel Messi nearly scored.

It’s already a well-known fact that his goals have provided Barca with seven points in the league prior to this match including the equaliser against Atletico Madrid and the winner against Real Sociedad, as well as the Spanish Super Cup winner. He is only 21-years-old, but he is already a proven game-changer which takes some of the reliance off Messi.

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In the league, he is averaging 3.16 key passes per 90 minutes, which is second only to Messi, as well as 0.26 xG and 0.35 xA per 90 minutes, according to Understat. This means he is overperforming his xG considerably with five goals from 2.15 xG in 741 minutes. This is only a small sample size, but he was averaging similar numbers last season.

Luis Suarez’s injury has indirectly helped Dembele due to it effectively forcing Ernesto Valverde into picking him. Therefore, he is getting a consistent run of games which is carrying on from when he replaced Messi during his spell on the sidelines. Unsurprisingly, this is bringing the best out of the talented Frenchman and he is now taking on a significant creative role in the team as well as occasionally scoring timely goals.

There has been plenty of debate about his future at the club, but getting rid of him would be a huge mistake due to the ability he is currently at as well as his potential. His both-footed ability is a rare talent that makes him an absolute nightmare to defend against. His talent needs to be nurtured and the club needs to allow him the chance to learn from his mistakes.