Returning and bringing sorrow to his former team, that’s what Ousmane Dembele did on the day PSG defeated Barca right in Catalonia.
It wasn’t Kylian Mbappe, it was Dembele – a former Barca player. The striker, joked by fans to have repeatedly slapped his former team, is the one who pulled PSG out of the abyss in both legs.
Dembele’s response
Center-back Ronald Araujo received a red card from the referee in a controversial situation on the pitch at the Olímpic Lluís Companys stadium. However, the pain was somewhat alleviated for the cules by witnessing Dembele shining.
Dembele shone on the day PSG sunk Barca 4-1 in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Barcelona once spent up to €150 million to acquire the French player, only to eventually sell him to PSG for €50 million. That was the first slap in the face for the Catalan representatives. It was a failure for the club to take responsibility for poorly managing the transfer process. It was also a lesson in trust when Barcelona chose to no longer give opportunities to the French player.
In the two quarter-final legs of the 2023/24 Champions League, Dembele’s goals helped his team fly past the “Blaugranes”. Fate seemed to mock Barcelona for choosing the 26-year-old forward as PSG’s savior.
In the first leg at Parc des Princes a week ago, Dembele’s strike brought the equalizer for the Parisian giants. In the second leg, it was once again Dembele who brought the match back to square one, setting the stage for PSG’s impressive comeback later on. Mbappe scored a brace, but the former Barca star created the turning point.
Barcelona’s dream of reaching the Champions League semi-finals was dashed by a player they once placed high hopes on. Last season, Dembele wore Barcelona’s jersey, but now he returned to Catalonia in a different color, bringing sorrow to the club that was once his nurturing ground.
On social media, Barcelona fans harshly criticized the club, calling him a “traitor,” a “despicable player”… Throughout the match, every time Dembele touched the ball, shouts and whistles erupted, as if the French forward was the “enemy of the state.”
This only made Dembele’s performance more admirable. The French star overcame psychological pressure to play exceptionally well. Similar to the first leg, he equalized for PSG. Later on, it was also Dembele who earned a penalty for his team.
“The jeers from Barcelona fans? That’s normal in every stadium. For me, Barcelona is a fantastic club. I love Barcelona very much. However, I’m happy in Paris now, and we will play in the semi-finals,” Dembele said.
Dembele’s smile is a message that shows Barcelona made a mistake by selling him.
Barcelona couldn’t stop Dembele.
There was a notable moment at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium when referee Istvan Kovacs showed Araujo a red card. The French player sprinted from afar, saying something as if to exert pressure, then applauded the decision of the Romanian “King of the Black Shirts.”
No player does that when facing their former team. However, Dembele’s actions seemed to send a firm message to Barca: He is now PSG’s man and very happy here. Reversing the past, Dembele has often been jeered and insulted by Barca fans, which could lead to accumulated frustration in a player, and now is the time it bursts out.
Dembele also chose a professional approach to “respond” to Barca fans. He didn’t engage in verbal battles but instead used his performance on the field to show the culés how they and their former team were wrong.
With over 50,000 spectators present at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, Dembele consistently stirred up the right flank with his speedy dribbling. Barcelona’s defense struggled significantly to contain the 26-year-old French forward.
WhoScored’s statistics show that Dembele had 5 shots, with a passing accuracy rate of 77%, including 1 key pass (an opportunity-creating pass) and 4 successful dribbles. This evidence indicates that despite knowing Dembele well, Barcelona couldn’t stop the French forward.
Dembele played brilliantly just when PSG needed him the most. It’s not overstating to say that Coach Luis Enrique’s trust in his pupil has been rewarded. The French forward’s explosion also deepened Barcelona’s pain. It was a slap in the face, making the club’s defeat harder to swallow.