Lionel Messi may have milked the limelight for his scintillating display against Espanyol, but it was Ousmane Dembele who also captured the headlines for another consistent performance in a Barcelona shirt.

The Frenchman scored Barca’s second goal of the night and also provided an assist for Luis Suarez to make it 3-0 just before half-time.

Messi teed up Dembele for his strike and praised his younger team-mate after the win at RCDE Stadium on Sunday.

“He’s very good,” the 31-year-old told Marca.

“He wants to play, he had a good game, scored a goal and was important. We need him.”