Barcelona is at the top of the “La Liga” table after 17 games, and is also on the right track in the cup. Last night (Wednesday) Xavi’s players beat Real Sociedad 0:1 on the way to the semi-finals, thanks to a goal by Ousmane Dembele who has never lost in a Blaugrana uniform in a game in which he scored.
“Is Dembele better than Kylian Mbappe these days?”, Joseph Federol wondered after the game at “El Chiringito” and the covers of the “Sport” and “Mundo Deportivo” newspapers also chose the title “Dembalaso”. The Frenchman received a 9 for his performance, high above all others.
At the press conference at the end of the game, Xavi was also asked about Dembele’s ability: “I think what has changed in Osman is that now he believes he is one of the best wing players in the world. I already knew that, but now he is also starting to believe. He feels confident, we There is a lot of talk and he is a great guy. In his position he is absolutely one of the best in the world.”
Already at an early stage, starting in the 40th minute, Real Sociedad found itself with ten players following the dismissal of Mendes and Xavi also admitted at the end: “We achieved the goal, but we only won 0:1 and we were definitely in danger at the end. We are lucky to have Ter Stegen in the goal. I would have gone out very nervous and with a stupid face if we had conceded and gone into overtime.” In addition, the coach confirmed that Pedri, who was replaced due to a leg injury, is expected to be fit for the game against Girona on Saturday.
The defender Ronald Araujo added: “It was a difficult game, just as we expected it to be, but we reached the semi-finals as we wanted and that is what is important. In the second half they shut us down excellently and Sociedad is a fast team that made it difficult for us, but we were on our guard and Ter Stegen also saved us. Dembele helps us A lot with the goals and the decisions he makes and the crowd also did their part. We should have finished the game first, we’ll take it from the coach.”