Ousmane Dembele’s footballing turnaround at Barcelona is akin to that of Lazarus. In January, his chances of staying at the club beyond the summer were minimal. Told to leave publicly by the management, after four seasons of consistent injuries and little production, he is now the darling of Camp Nou.
Last season he finished as the leading assist provider in La Liga and it appears he has picked up where he left off. Already with two assists in La Liga, last night against Viktoria Plzen he added two more.
That was the headline from a number of excellent statistics that Dembele put up, including six key passes.
Ousmane Dembele’s game by numbers vs. Victoria Plzen:
100% tackles won
89% pass accuracy
86 touches
11/15 ground duels won
6/9 dribbles completed
6 key passes
4/8 crosses completed
2 chances created
2 assistsPut in another incredible performance. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/4QenJdtuFV
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 7, 2022
However beyond the numbers, Dembele dazzled both the support and the defence with his quick feet last night. No longer is he a frivolous player that consistently takes the wrong decision. Increasingly Dembele finds the free player that his dangerous dribbling causes, leading manager Xavi Hernandez to compare him to Neymar Junior last night. Increasingly, he is the player his teammates look for along with Pedri and Robert Lewandowski.
