Ousmane Dembélé starting to show his talent

Dembélé starred on Champions League duty

There was a feeling Wednesday night as Dutch referee Makkelie brought to a close the group game between Barcelona and Juventus that Ousmane Dembélé was just beginning to turn the corner.

The French winger was electric in Turin, scoring the opening goal and tormenting the Juventus defence from either side with his electric pace and box of tricks.

Moments like this have been all to rare for Dembélé, who was has been the subject of numerous transfer rumours, poor form and a host of injuries. With performances like this it is easy to see why Barcelona were so keen to keep hold of him and this could be a precursor of something special not only for him but the club as a whole.

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Beginning with Wednesday night, Dembélé was focussed from the start demanding the ball and taking on defenders straight away. His goal was a testament to his natural ability to use both feet. Standing out on the right touchline. He received a long pass from Messi, taking the ball down moving towards goal jinking inside before touching the ball to his right using his left before firing a deflected strike into the Juventus net past a stranded Szczęsny.

There was a hint of good fortune in the deflection to wrong foot the goalkeeper, but the young man’s performance definitely warranted that. Lionel Messi, broke out of a mini run of quiet games by his standard creating numerous chances for his team mates and causing havoc in the extra space he was afforded, with the Juventus defence attention occupied by a rampaging Dembélé.

As Messi’s career ticks closer to retirement his ability to dominate games singlehandedly wanes and the more glaring it becomes for the club that the Argentine great needs support.

With the introduction of young Spaniards Ansu Fati and Pedri usually in the forward left position, there is a spot on the right which is up for the taking. If Dembélé can fill this role, Koeman can continue to use Messi in more of a central role to support Griezmann in attack and ensure the little genius can effect the game as much as possible.

The Frenchman managed 66 mins against Juventus before being substituted and in that time he completed 5 take-ons, landed 2 shots on target and totalled 59 touches (a sign of his confidence to get on the ball and show what he can do.

This is a testing time for the club both on and off the pitch. With the current President Bartomeu and the rest of the board stepping down, the need for good results on the pitch becomes magnified.

Wednesday night was a start but they will need more and having a fully fit and engaged Ousmane Dembélé will go a long way to helping Barcelona get back to their attacking best and challenging for titles.

Do you guys think this is the start of something for Dembélé or just a flash in the pan?