A healthy goal from Ousmane Dembélé at the very end of the game enabled Barça to avoid an uncomfortable setback on the pitch of Atlético (1-1) on Saturday.
It is a goal that will allow Ousmane Dembélé to emerge from the turmoil, at last. The French striker has been the target of criticism on the other side of the Pyrenees for several weeks for his supposed lack of discipline. Intense and hasty, this much-awaited match did not reach any peaks in the game, to say the least. And Atlético, who thought it was the perfect hit, got punched on the wire.
Dembélé, the goal that changes everything
The first few minutes quickly set the stage. By closing the gaps and proposing a good grid of the field, the Atlético had two objectives : first, to annihilate the offensive intentions of Barcelona, and then to wait for the right moment to shoot, on a counter or a fixed kick. The show felt that way because Barcelona was never able to propose the changes in ryhme necessary to break the lock in this first period.
This chess match was a little more interesting on the way back from the dressing rooms, where Atlético, with a zest of audacity in addition, tried to take things in hand. Antoine Griezmann, discreet until then, made a very nice breakthrough before distilling a dangerous retreat center that Diego Costa, always very prompt, was very close to converting (60′). An oasis in the desert that announced the opening of the Colchoneros score.
A quarter of an hour later, Atlético took over the same actors to pass by. A corner Well kicked by Antoine Griezmann found the unstoppable head of Diego Costa,who made the Wanda Metropolitano (1-0, 77′). Barcelona had one foot on the ground and Atléti, for its part, could have even taken control of the Liga from its evening opponent, but the entry of Ousmane Dembélé changed everything. And that’s the great story of the day.
From his first shot, the French world champion showed the right side of his game, that of a destabilizing attacker. After a first rush to find his sensations, the former Dortmund player did not tremble to adjust Oblak from a perfect foot dish at the end of the night (1-1, 90e). This goal has showered the entire Madrid precincts. For Atlético, for Antoine Griezmann, and for his new partner in the French team, he is obviously changing a lot of things.”He’s a great player, he has a lot of qualities, including the ability to score. We talked a lot, sometimes a little too much…”concluded Ernesto Valverde.