Ousmane Dembele: Confusing performance against Tottenham shows the best and worst of Barcelona star

Ousmane Dembele: Confusing performance against Tottenham shows the best and worst of Barcelona star
It was a work of art: smart pressing, a quick change of pace, a feint in the box to leave an opponent looking like a fool when no one could have expected it, then a cool finish that sent the Camp Nou wild.For once the scorer wasnt Lionel Messi. Ousmane Dembls opener against Tottenham in Barcelona on Tuesday was as fine an individual effort as you will ever see in the Catalan capital. The kind that makes it worth the price of admission, judging by the euphoria with which the home support reacted.4

Ousmane Dembele sped past Kyle Walker-Peters and sold Harry Winks a dummy before calmly slotting the ball past Hugo Lloris for Barcelona’s goal

That should have been that, but with Dembl things are never so simple. The Frenchmans moment of genius was then inexplicably followed by more than an hour marked largely by mistakes, continuing the theme that has marked his season one of contradiction.It has been quite the four days for the number 11. On Saturday, 20 minutes down the road at the RCDE Stadium, he produced another excellent finish, cutting inside then curling the ball into the Espanyol net to help put Bara out of sight in the citys derby. Even without the goal (and an additional assist), it was his best overall showing for the Blaugrana to date, the young player finally looking fully in sync with his team-mates and the mechanisms of Barcelonas game.4

Dembele was on the score sheet in Barcelona’s league win against Espanyol

On Sunday, he followed up on that excellent night by turning up two hours late for training (though it could have been worse at least this time he actually turned up). The question ahead of the Tottenham game, therefore, was whether he would feature at all. The 21-year-old may well have been dropped for the visit of Mauricio Pochettinos side, had coach Ernesto Valverde not already used that disciplinary card over a similar incident earlier this season.Instead, the Frenchman was reportedly fined a price in the range of hundreds of thousands of Euros, then given another chance to redeem himself on the pitch in the Champions League. With Lionel Messi given some rest and only starting on the bench, Dembl was the player best suited to break Tottenhams lines from the forward line.4

Dembele’s sensational goal against Tottenham lit up the Camp Nou

Free from the shackles of Messi or Luis Suarez pulling rank (the Uruguayan didnt even make the bench), the forward was given an opportunity to show what he can really do, and his start was absolutely perfect. With seven minutes on the clock, and Barcelona defending a Tottenham dead-ball, Dembl ran from the edge of his own area to pressure Kyle Walkers-Peters into a costly error. Running inside into space, he then flew past the recovering youngster, surged into the area then produced a brutally cold-blooded feint in the box that sent Harry Winks sliding off somewhere in the direction of the beach. All that was left was the finish, and the Bara mans coolly placed shot was well beyond Hugo Lloris.

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4Dembele’s full range of skills were on display against TottenhamThe goal showed off everything that can make Dembl great: dribbling with one foot and finishing with the other, pace, the ability to put the breaks on when most people would feel rushed into a poorer decision, and the confidence to resolve potentially tricky situations at a numerical disadvantage, where others may have been tempted to wait for reinforcements.Yet thereafter he showed everything that can make him so frustrating to watch. A simple pass needlessly given away here, an unnecessary attempt at a sombrero that relinquished possession there, instead of building on his goal the attacker seemed to at best get careless in his decision making at worst, lazy. Team-mates actively looked for him, but the result was often that of a move breaking or slowing down. A neither-shot-nor-cross that was barely in the same postcode as the run of Munir just before the break summed things up well. You can go to sleep now, Catalunya Radio commentator Bernat Soler had joked when Dembl scored the goal early on. He probably didnt think the player would take the advice literally. The credit built up by a truly special goal meant the forward nonetheless went off to warm applause from the Camp Nou when Valverde withdrew him with 15 minutes played, yet there is still an overarching feeling he could have done more. One more contradiction.Thats the story of his season. One of nine goals in all competitions, including against Real Madrid, Atltico Madrid and Espanyol the hat-trick of most valuable domestic opponents for Barcelona as well as a winner in the Spanish Supercup. Yet also, one of disciplinary problems, an inability to stay switched on for 90 minutes, and steps back following steps forward. There is undoubtedly an excellent player for Barcelona in there, waiting to be unlocked, but Dembl remains a puzzle for Valverde to fully solve.

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