Barcelona dealt Ousmane Dembele injury blow vs Leganes

January 20, 2019 John Football 0

Barcelona have tonight been dealt a blow on the injury-front, after Ousmane Dembele was forced off during the Spanish champions’ clash with Leganes.

Barcelona vs Leganes

La Liga leaders Barca welcomed minnows Leganes to the Camp Nou a short time ago, hoping to reestablish their 5-point lead atop the Spanish top-flight.

Atletico Madrid’s victory over Huesca yesterday afternoon saw Diego Simeone’s men close the gap on the Blaugrana to just 2 points.

Barca’s latest outing, meanwhile, saw the Catalan giants secure their advancement to the last-16 of the Copa Del Rey with a 3-0 victory over Levante.

As such, with the the Spanish champions’ cup ventures having seen them last take to the pitch just 3 days ago, Ernesto Valverde opted to leave Lionel Messi out of his starting XI this evening:

Dembele on fire

The first-half at the Camp Nou subsequently saw Ousmane Dembele emerge as the star man for Barcelona, with the Frenchman’s combination of flair, quick feet and frightening pace having caused Leganes’ back-line a whole host of problems:

And Dembele went on to cap his superb first-half showing with the game’s opening goal just past the half-hour mark:

The Blaugrana faithful were certainly impressed by what they were seeing from their side’s wing-wizard, with droves of Barca fans having taken to Twitter to sing Dembele’s praises throughout the opening 45 minutes:

Barca blow

As such, with recent weeks having seen the former Borussia Dortmund man finally begin to showcase what he’s capable of when fully fit and firing, it came as a hammer blow to both the player and Barca’s fans when Dembele was forced off during the second-half tonight with what looked a painful injury.

After stretching in an attempt to get his right foot on the ball, the 21-year-old’s left leg buckled underneath him, leaving Dembele in a heap on the Camp Nou turf.

He was subsequently forced to make way for Malcom, with the Frenchman’s struggles to even put any pressure on his left foot as he left the pitch having suggested more than a minor problem.

If Dembele is set for an extended spell on the sidelines, then his absence will come as a major blow for the La Liga leaders, with a tough run of fixtures which will see the Blaugrana take on Sevilla twice, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao over their next 5 outings on the horizon.

Messi to the rescue

Despite Dembele’s injury, Barcelona did nevertheless go on to pick up all 3 points tonight, with Lionel Messi having emerged from the bench to inspire his side to a hard-fought victory:

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