Lionel Messi scored a sumptuous hat-trick as Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Levante in La Liga.
Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez also got on the score sheet with the five time Ballon d’Or winner providing a superb assist for the Uruguayan’s effort.
While the Argentine was busy writing the following day’s headlines, Ousmane Dembele was playing as a right wingback for the first time in his professional career.
Here, we analyse his performance in the unfamiliar role.
STATISTICS
Shots – 0
Key passes – 0
Passes – 35
Pass accuracy – 80%
Tackles – 3
Interceptions – 1
Dribbles – 7
Crosses – 2
30-SECOND REPORT
With Nelson Semedo and Sergi Roberto both sidelined at the moment, Ernesto Valverde made the bold decision to play Dembele at right wingback in a 3-5-2 system.
The Frenchman did look out of place to begin with but grew into the role as the match progressed. He provided plenty of thrust down the right flank as you would expect but also held his own defensively despite a couple of clumsy moments in the first half.
However, he needed to rely on his pace to get back into position and though it worked against Levante, better opposition would most likely have exposed him and punished Barcelona.
He never had a sight at goal though in this withdrawn role and couldn’t threaten with his devastating runs in behind as he had to arrive from deep instead.
That said, perhaps it was also a ploy by Valverde to bestow a more disciplined role to the youngster who has gained a reputation for being in the bad books at Camp Nou.
GOT RIGHT
Recovery – What Dembele has in abundance is pace and he used that to good effect when having to track back. So while he wasn’t always where he was supposed to be, he was able to recover and get back in time.
Dribbling – His attacking threat in the final third was mitigated but he did have plenty of space to run into. He registered more dribbles (7) than any other player on the pitch.
GOT WRONG
Positioning – It’s a good thing he’s quick because he did get caught ball-watching at times. While Jordi Alba ventured forward equally on the opposite flank, he picked his moments well and that was a notable difference.
Tackling – His tackling wasn’t as bad as expected. He made one really clumsy one at the start and earned a booking for it. To his credit, he had a couple of clean ones later on.
Ousmane Dembele (C)
VERDICT
It was a worthwhile experiment and perhaps against inferior opposition, Dembele can reprise the role again but he is certainly not a legitimate option at wingback in the bigger games. However, it was encouraging to see the 21-year-old carry out his task dutifully and with commitment. He didn’t seem to think it beneath him and didn’t do a haphazard job. Valverde would’ve enjoyed his response.
RATING: 7/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
