As Barcelona’s Champions League second-leg clash with Chelsea draws ever closer, the Supercopa de Catalunya was an opportunity for Ousmane Dembele to stake his claim.
But in the hour he appeared at the Camp d’Esports in Lleida, the France international did little to suggest he will be used heavily in either the UCL or La Liga.
Of course, this was only a regional competition, though with playing time at a premium, especially as Philippe Coutinho continues to grow into his role at Camp Nou, Dembele still has a lot of work to do after an injury-hit season.
We take a look at his performance in a game that was eventually won 4-2 on penalties by Barcelona.
🔥🔥 @Dembouz pic.twitter.com/WWdwAoolH0
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 7, 2018
THE GOOD
Dembele has a valid excuse for a difficult first season at Barca, suffering from a speed-sapping hamstring injury just as he was beginning to flourish in Catalonia.
The 20-year-old has made just two starts for the Blaugrana’s first-team this year – and for good reason given how delicate that particular ailment can be.
On this evidence, though, Dembele has lost none of that pre-injury zip as he stretched his legs in Lleida.
His speed is genuinely frightening and numerous times, particularly during the first half, he squeezed past defenders through pure speed alone. There was a palpable buzz every time he received the ball.
His sleight of hand also drew a couple of fouls and one cynical challenge from Pablo Piatti – although Dembele’s heated reaction was unnecessary.
THE BAD
As impressive as his blazing pace was, for a player who could end up costing Barca 150 million euros, his end product was far more miss than hit.
In fact, he ended up hitting the crowd 10 or 15 rows back on two occasions as he failed to wrap his left foot around a couple of crosses in rather alarming fashion.
He drifted into the middle on occasion in an effort to see more of the ball, though when he remained on the left, his overlaps with full-back Lucas Digne were often out of sync.
In fairness to Dembele the quality of the game was poor and he perhaps played down to that lowly level – though you’d also hope he could drag the others up with him.
