Dembele stars as Barcelona sweep aside Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona made four changes from midweek and one of those players to come in was Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman was the star of the show as he single-handedly gave Xavi's side the three points. He scored after just 12 minutes before assisting Sergi Roberto six minutes later to make it 2-0. With 22 minutes on the clock, the game was over as a contest as he got past Yuri before feeding Lewandowski. Then, in the 73rd minute, Dembele completed his hat-trick of assists when he set up substitute Ferran Torres. Athletic Bilbao could not deal with him and they were never in the contest. 

It was Valverde's first game facing Barcelona since being sacked in January 2020 after winning two league titles, but it did not go to plan for him. "It's been a horrible day because we lost 4-0," said the coach. "They punished us today." Just as three goals in an eight-minute spell helped Barcelona vanquish Villarreal on Thursday, another quick-fire treble killed off Athletic.

"We came out very strongly, we knew that they are intense and we had to match them," captain Sergio Busquets told Movistar. "We overpowered them in the middle and we were accurate. I am sure Xavi is happy. The objective is to win and to do it in a complete way, playing well. This elevates the level of the team."

Xavi selected Pedri to operate on the left of the attack in his 4-3-3 formation, as Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta did on occasion - giving further credence to the already frequent comparisons between the two. It increased the team's fluidity, as did a double pivot of Busquets and Frenkie de Jong, although the star dust was added by Dembele.

 

October 23, 2022

The French winger took the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening stages and it was no surprise when he broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. Dembele's long-range strike was parried by Unai Simon, but Barcelona kept the move alive and Lewandowski whipped in a cross for him to head home.

Barcelona doubled their lead six minutes later, when Roberto played a one-two with Dembele, receiving the Frenchman's perfectly weighed pass and firing a deflected effort past Simon. The third followed with Dembele involved again, feeding Lewandowski, who turned exquisitely in the area and slammed home. It was his 12th of the season in La Liga in 11 appearances, the division's runaway top scorer.

Despite Barcelona's impending Champions League elimination and Clasico defeat, the supporters remain behind Xavi, chanting his name when he protested about Dani Garcia brutally colliding with Gavi. The 18-year-old midfielder tried to play on but went down again a few minutes later and had to be replaced.

Torres added the fourth, teed up by Dembele, who was afforded an ovation from supporters as he was replaced by La Liga debutant Pablo Torre. A double goal-line clearance by Busquets and then Eric Garcia denied Athletic a late consolation.