Dembélé picks up Raphinha’s glove – Spain’s News

Ousmane Dembélé has returned to Barcelona and has done so to wage war. That is the conclusion that can be drawn after the first three preseason games and it is a feeling that was seen more clearly after the match against Juventus. The French winger was the author of the two goals scored by Xavi’s team in the draw against Vecchia Signora and is running for a place in the Barça eleven.

“He has shown what he is capable of. It is different, special. He has to make a difference because not everyone has the ability to do so in the world of football and he does. He is involved and shows it », assured Xavi after the game against Juventus when asked about Dembélé. It is not for less, the Mosquito appeared to break a match that until then could fall for either side. And it is that Barcelona tried to deploy the entire Blaugrana style catalog in the first half hour but it lacked fluidity. The Kessié, Busquets and Nico did not find the speed in the game of previous days and only the imagination of one of the three strikers could save a flat first half.

That is where Dembélé appeared. The French winger occupied the right-handed profile in a forward line that he shared with Aubameyang and Lewandowski. From there it was possible to see a player capable of constantly facing on par with him, a headache for a Juventus that in just six minutes saw how a whirlwind passed over him. In the first goal the Mosquito left Cuadrado, Alex Sandro and Rovella behind with a series of feints to get a right hand almost without an angle against which Szczesny could do little. It was the starting signal for his express show.

Dembélé was on fire and the reaction of Juventus did not matter. Allegri’s men equalized after a lateral cross that Moise Kean finished off. It was a parenthesis in the middle of the exhibition of the 7 blaugrana. Dembouz received again on the side, feinted again with the ease that only he knows how to do and got rid of a left foot between a sea of ​​​​legs that ended up in the net again. He celebrated it by pretending that he was sleeping, an invitation to dream of the best version of him for which Barcelona has already picked up the glove.

After the break Xavi made a clean slate by making up to six changes. There were too many changes for a Barça that did not show its best version in the first half and that after the break found itself at the first change with a goal from Moise Kean after a good play by Di María in transition. It was the worst moment for a team that was gradually settling down and that ended up completing the complete change of eleven at 60 minutes. It was then that a less participative Robert Lewandowski retired than in his debut as a culé and that he will have to wait to score his first goal as a Barça player.

The final half hour allowed Xavi to make room for players who until now have played a less important role in the squad. Frenkie de Jong returned to serve once again as a central defender while waiting for his future to be resolved, Gerard Piqué had minutes and Memphis served as the point of attack. In addition to them, young talents such as Casado, Collado, Pablo Torre and Abde participated, footballers looking for a showcase in the last month of the market and who witnessed how the pace of the match slowed down in a new test bench for Xavi. The one from Tarrasa has new conclusions and a ‘new’ stiletto to count on in his revamped Barça in Dembélé.