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Ousmane Dembele is back to full fitness finally for Barcelona and has come in for some rare praise from manager Ronald Koeman.
The Frenchman scored for the second Champions League game in a row for the Catalan giants on Wednesday against Juventus and put in a strong performance against the Serie A champions.
Koeman was asked about Dembele in his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Alaves and took time out to compliment the Frenchman.
What has influenced his performance have been injuries, today he is physically much better and has participated in games. He is creative, he has a lot of speed, and the team needs people to go one against one because you create spaces and lose balls in areas of the field that are not important. He can improve but above all seek one-on-one, enter the wing and improve some tactical aspects but the important thing for him is that that he is physically well.
The Dutch coach’s words should provide a confidence boost for Dembele as he seeks to secure a regular spot in his starting XI. The 23-year-old has started only two of Barca’s seven games in 2020-21 but is gaining match fitness after missing almost the entirety of last season through injury.
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Koeman Cautious Over Dembele
Koeman’s hesitance with regards using Dembele is understandable given the French forward has been plagued by injuries since his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.
Laia Tudel at Catalunya Radio has explained Koeman is “happy with his performance but cautious” but does think that Dembele has improved and is far more focused in training.
Dembele has certainly looked sharp on the training ground recently:
The challenge for the forward now will be to stay fit and continue to deliver the goods on the field. If he can do both of those things there is every chance he can nail down a regular spot in the Barcelona attack.
Dembele to Face Alaves?
Barcelona’s next game is a La Liga clash with Alaves on Saturday, but it remains to be seen if Dembele will keep his place in the starting XI. The Frenchman played just over an hour at Juventus before being replaced by Ansu Fati in the second half.
Fati could come back into the starting XI, while Antoine Griezmann, Francisco Trincao, Martin Braithwaite, and 17-year-old Pedri will also be hoping to feature in attack along with Lionel Messi.
Dembele will have done his chances of starting no harm at all with his performance against Juventus and may fancy taking on an Alaves side that Barca has beaten on each of their last seven meetings in La Liga.
Koeman is expected to rotate his side on Saturday as Barcelona play again on Wednesday against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League and then face Real Betis in La Liga three days later.
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