Barcelona fought back from a goal down to edge a narrow 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta Stadium on Saturday.
Aritz Elustondo opened the scoring for the hosts as the Catalans struggled to get going with headcoach Ernesto Valverde resting some key players.
Following a couple of substitutions for the visitors though, they recovered in the second half with goals from Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.
Here, we analyse the performance of Dembele.
30-SECOND REPORT
Dembele started on the left of a front three but occasionally attacked down the right as well with Lionel Messi drifting into the middle. He took time to find his feet but grew into the game as it progressed and began causing Sociedad a few problems towards the end of the first half.
The young Frenchman registered three key passes in total and used his pace to make a few incisions in the host’s backline. He drilled in a loose ball from the top of the box to bag Barca’s winner, although he was helped by a couple of ricochets.
GOT RIGHT
Dribbling – During the 77 minutes he spent on the pitch, he managed four dribbles. What’s impressive about that is the fact Barca were struggling to get going and his individual skill helped create a few openings when their slick passing had deserted them.
Crucial goal – Barcelona desperately needed a winner to maintain their perfect record this season while Sociedad were creating chances of their own on the break. His finish was a difficult one as he approached the strike at angle and did well to keep his effort down with the ball bobbling around.
GOT WRONG
Caught in possession – Dembele still needs to understand when to dribble and when to play the quick pass. He was dispossessed three times and another two bad touches saw him lose possession.
Dembele scored the winner.
VERDICT
Showed signs of his promise again and it was encouraging to see him do it in a difficult game where several other players weren’t at it. There’s still an element of rawness about his game though.
RATING 7/10