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Ousmane Dembele scored his first La Liga goal of the 2020-21 season for Barcelona in some style on Saturday against Real Betis at the Camp Nou.
Antoine Griezmann found his compatriot out on the right midway through the first half, allowing Dembele to cut inside before smashing an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
The goal made it 1-0 to Barcelona and gave the hosts a deserved lead. Ronald Koeman’s side started the game strongly with Ansu Fati and Antoine Griezmann both going close with shots that flew wide.
Griezmann also had the chance to double Barca’s lead in the first half after Fati was fouled and won a spot-kick. Yet the World Cup winner’s penalty was not well-struck and saved by Bravo.
It was to prove a costly miss for the hosts too. Antonio Sanabria pulled a goal back for Real Betis just before the break to ensure the two sides went in at half-time tied at 1-1.
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Dembele In From the Start
Dembele was named in the starting XI for Saturday’s match, starting out wide on the right with Fati on the opposite flank. Griezmann and 17-year-old Pedri completed the attack, while Lionel Messi was surprisingly left on the bench.
It’s only the third time Koeman has selected Dembele in his starting XI in La Liga this season. His other starts have come in the defeat to Getafe and last weekend’s draw against Alaves.
Dembele has been used in the Champions League, scoring in the win over Ferencvaros at the Camp Nou and the impressive 2-0 victory against Juventus in Turin.
Praise For Dembele
Dembele’s goal was a big lift for Barcelona after a run of four La Liga games without a win. Captain Messi, watching from the stands, also seemed pretty impressed by his team-mate’s latest goal.
The spectacular opening goal from Dembele also drew praise from supporters and commentators on Twitter.
It’s Dembele’s first La Liga goal for 13 months. His last strike in the Spanish top-flight came in October 2019 in a 4-0 win over Sevilla at the Camp Nou. Dembele was also sent off late in the game.
The Frenchman then missed most of the rest of the season through injury but is now back to full fitness and offering plenty of optimism he can go on and have a strong campaign with the Catalan giants.
Dembele now has three goals in eight appearances for Barca, but perhaps more crucially is playing regularly. Barca will be hoping he can continue to stay injury-free and go on to show exactly why the club invested so heavily to bring him in back in 2017.
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