Ousmane Dembele had little time for Sevilla defenders during Barcelona’s 2-0 win at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in La Liga on Saturday. The Frenchman scored the opening goal for the Catalans as the visitors picked up an important win.
The 23-year-old was also spotted making a hilarious gesture after a clash with Sevilla defender Jesus Navas which left the left-back prone on the turf. Dembele made it clear he was not at all impressed by the defender’s theatrics as he walked away.
Dembele’s goal ended a recent drought by the Frenchman. It’s his eighth of the season in all competitions for the Catalan giants but his first since the 1-1 draw with Eibar in December.
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Dembele’s Strong Sevilla Record
There’s no doubt that Dembele seems to enjoy playing Sevilla. The forward has a fine record against the Andalusian side and has regularly found the net against them since he joined Barcelona.
Dembele’s goal came just before the half-hour mark after he was played through on goal by captain Lionel Messi. The Barcelona star then finished clinically past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
The Sevilla goalkeeper had gone 557 minutes without conceding a goal before Dembele struck but could do nothing about the Frenchman’s low effort.
Dembele To Face Sevilla Again?
Barcelona will be hoping Dembele can maintain his fine record against Sevilla when the teams meet again on Wednesday at the Camp Nou. The Catalans head into the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final clash 2-0 down and in need of goals.
Coach Ronald Koeman tweaked his formation for the league clash on Saturday, employing three center-backs, two wing-backs and using Dembele in attack along with Messi.
It proved to be an effective strategy as Barca enjoyed a comfortable win, and the two attackers were both on target. Koeman was full of praise for his team after the match and explained his tactical switch, as reported by Marca.
We tried to pressure the opponent, and playing with three centre-backs and full-backs pressed high made it easier for us to not let Sevilla play. That’s been the key. It’s a risky system, but without the ball we pressed and tried to play one-on-one. Our game off the ball was key. It was a complete game.
It’s been a good change that we’ve seen in 2021, although we lost points at the beginning. Today we’ve show that we’re still very much alive and that’s very important. I’m proud, especially regarding the physical aspect. They have a physically very strong team and we were able to match them off the ball, and with the ball we were very good, very calm.
It remains to be seen if Koeman will stick with his formation, but he must be tempted after an impressive performance and result. Even if Koeman does make changes to his side it still seems likely Dembele will start as he is been a regular this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions for the Catalan giants.
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