Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele settling into starting role as Carles Alena stakes claim for more minutes

AFP/Getty Images
Ben Hayward2 December 2018

Amid the tedium, there were flashes of real encouragement for Barcelona. Sunday evening's 2-0 win over Villarreal at Camp Nou was hardly thrilling and for a period in the second half, it was rather dull. But it was a special night for both Ousmane Dembele and Carles Alena.

Dembele has had a tough time this season at Barca. The French winger has chipped in with seven goals, five of those decisive, but has seen his professionalism questioned both by the club and also by the media, with a series of unwanted headlines.

Most of his more memorable moments have come from the bench in 2018-19. When he has started, he has often looked somewhat out of place, out of tune with his team-mates and out of sync with a playing style which he has yet to fully assimilate.

In this match, however, there were clear signs he is settling into the responsibility of a starting spot. The winger was a constant threat against Villarreal, attacking down the flank, dribbling, shooting, linking up with his team-mates and generally giving rival defenders a torrid time.

It was a more mature performance and one move had the Camp Nou crowd purring with approval as he turned Villarreal's Alfonso Pedraza inside out on the byline, twisting one way and then another as he beat the midfielder no less than four times, before seeing his cross cleared.

AFP

There was no end product that time, but there was when he crossed for defender Gerard Pique to head home the opening goal after 36 minutes, following a corner.

"He was one of the standout players in the game," Barca boss Ernesto Valverde said afterwards. "He has so many good things and we hope there are many good matches ahead for him.

"He stands out for his speed, his dribbling, his shooting, his change of rhythm..."

Praise indeed from a coach who has used the midfielder sparingly and called for a need to focus on a number of occasions throughout this season.

Carles Alena celebrates his goal with Sergio Busquets
REUTERS

As time ticked on, it looked like Pique – who was excellent all night as Barca kept a clean sheet in La Liga for the first time since August – might score the only goal of the game. But substitute Alena made it 2-0 three minutes before the end with a fine finish as he chipped goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo following a one-two with Lionel Messi.

"With Messi, everything is easier. There are things that only he sees," the midfielder said. "To score at Camp Nou is a dream come true."

Earlier, there had been whistles at Camp Nou as Alena came on in place of Arturo Vidal, who was having a good game. In the end, though, those jeers turned to cheers for the 20-year-old La Masia graduate.

"It's a reward for him," Valverde said afterwards. "He is a player who is always with us and he has taken that step up from the second team to the first team seamlessly. He came on because I thought it would be good to have a player in the middle to give us a bit more energy."

Carles Alena stepped off the bench to score his first La Liga goal
AFP

It worked well and with his cameo, Alena has staked his claim for more minutes in future. With several players missing through injury at the moment, this might be his opportunity to shine and further forward, Dembele is now developing into the player Barca hoped he would become.

So despite the whistles, it was a positive night in the end and to cap it all off, Barca are back on top of La Liga too after Sevilla's 1-1 draw with Alaves left them one point adrift.

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