Dembele dazzles with goal, hat-trick of assists as Barca cruise to victory

Ousmane Dembele shone successful Barcelona's 4-0 victory implicit Athletic Club. Xavi's squad support the spread down league leaders Real Madrid to 3 points.

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Dembele ran the amusement aft assisting 3 goals and scoring erstwhile astatine the Camp Nou. Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Sergi Roberto were each connected the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde's instrumentality to Barcelona was a sour one, and though his squad beryllium successful 6th presumption successful the table, they are without a triumph successful the past 4 games.

JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post-match quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures

Rapid reaction

1. Barca thrash Athletic to enactment connected Madrid's tails

Barcelona person recovered their goal-scoring interaction again, but it volition apt travel excessively precocious to prevention their Champions League campaign. After scoring 3 goals successful the archetypal fractional of Thursday's triumph implicit Villarreal, they repeated the feat against Athletic Bilbao astatine Camp Nou connected Sunday. They past went 1 amended by adding a 4th aft the break.

Xavi Hernandez tinkered with his broadside again, opting for 4 midfielders and bringing Dembele backmost in, with Ansu Fati and Torres among the players to driblet out. The effect was devastating; not disrupting. Within 22 minutes, Barca had 3 goals, 1 each for Dembele, Roberto and Lewandowski, who present has 17 this season. Torres completed the scoring disconnected the seat successful the 2nd half.

It is conscionable 1 week since a decision to Real Madrid led Xavi to lament the "bad run" Barca were on. They had lone scored erstwhile successful wins against Mallorca and Celta Vigo, taken 1 constituent from six against Inter Milan and past mislaid the Clasico astatine the Santiago Bernabeu. Things are looking rosier again now. They stay connected Madrid's tails astatine the apical of LaLiga, conscionable 3 points back, and look successful bully signifier going into Wednesday's crippled against Bayern Munich.

However, the atrocious quality is they nary longer beryllium connected themselves successful the Champions League. Even if they bushed Bayern 10-0, they volition beryllium knocked into the Europa League if Inter bushed Viktoria Plzen connected the aforesaid day.

2. Dembele dazzles with extremity and hat-trick of assists

One of the loudest cheers of the nighttime was reserved for Dembele, who opened the scoring and past acceptable up the different 3 goals. He was fixed a lasting ovation erstwhile helium was taken disconnected for teen Pablo Torre, who was introduced for his LaLiga debut.

There was a feeling Dembele needed a show similar this. It has ever been wide that, on with Lewandowski, helium is portion of Xavi's first-choice attack. Recent displays, though, had started to make immoderate doubts astir that. Or astatine slightest enactment a small spot of unit connected the French forward. Even Xavi said his decision-making inactive needs to amended recently.

It surely improved against Athletic. His extremity -- his first-ever header successful Barca colours -- paved the mode for the thrashing arsenic helium teed up Roberto, Lewandowski and Torres to implicit the rout. He present has 4 goals and 7 assists successful each competitions this play and tin beryllium unplayable successful this form.

3. Valverde's miserable Camp Nou return

Ernesto Valverde won LaLiga doubly during his spell arsenic Barcelona manager earlier helium was sacked with the nine apical of the league successful 2019. They person not won the rubric since. You could person forgiven him for wanting to marque an content connected his archetypal nonrecreational travel backmost to Camp Nou since helium was fired, but immoderate hopes of that happening were rapidly extinguished.

The grin helium wore connected his look erstwhile helium greeted Xavi Hernandez prematch did not past agelong arsenic his squad were taken apart. After a superb commencement to the season, which saw Athletic emergence to 3rd astatine 1 point, they are present winless successful 4 games. A tricky tally of fixtures against Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Getafe and Barca has yielded conscionable 2 points. There is nary request for interest conscionable yet and determination is inactive a feel-good origin astir Valverde's instrumentality arsenic manager astatine San Mames, but a triumph to settee immoderate nerves soon would beryllium welcomed successful Bilbao.

Player ratings

Barcelona: Ter Stegen 6; Roberto 8, Kounde 7, Garcia 6, Balde 8; Busquets 6, De Jong 7,Gavi 6, Pedri 7; Dembele 9, Lewandowski 7
Subs: Kessie 6, Ansu 6, Torres 7, Alonso 6, Torre 6

Athletic Club: Simon 5; De Marcos 4, Alvarez 5, Martinez 5, Yuri 4; Herrera 5, Vesga 5; Nico Williams 6, Zarraga 5, Berenguer 5; Inaki Williams 5
Subs: Dani Garcia 4, Lekue 6, Sancet 6, Raul Garcia 5, Vencedor 5

Best and worst performers

BEST: Dembele, Barcelona.

Dembele was progressive successful each 3 goals truthful helium is the standout candidate, but besides a connection for left-back Alejandro Balde. The 19-year-old is getting amended and better. Could helium yet unit Luis Enrique to see him for the World Cup?

WORST: Oscar De Marcos, Athletic.

All of Athletic's backmost 4 struggled, particularly successful the archetypal half. Yuri Berchiche was fixed a torrid clip by Dembele, which was possibly to beryllium expected. What was not truthful expected was Balde making De Marcos look similar an amateur. Valverde withdrew him aft an hour.

Highlights and notable moments

Dembele's 12th infinitesimal header gave Barcelona an aboriginal lead.

Lewandowski ➡️ Dembele to enactment Barca up 1-0 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Mmg7k7EOlO

Dembele and Lewandowski combined for Barcelona's 3rd extremity conscionable 22 minutes in.

THE RUN BY DEMBELE. THE FINISH BY LEWA. WHAT A GOAL 😳 pic.twitter.com/wZcjWnDbBM

After the match: What the managers, players said

Athletic's Ernesto Valverde: "We weren't adjacent to winning, that's clear. Barça were strong. We tried, astatine the start, pressing high. They played done it good and punished us. In 10 minutes, 3 goals. The 2nd kills america a little. I was amazed by Barca's system. playing with 4 midfielders and opening the transportation with Balde and Dembele. It caught america retired a little."

Barcelona's Xavi: "We expected a crippled with a batch of strength played astatine a precocious rhythm. We knew they would property precocious truthful we enactment successful different midfielder to outnumber them done the middle. We wanted an other antheral successful midfield. I deliberation the key, though, was that we matched them successful intensity. Dembele was besides good, helium made the difference. The squad understood what was needed. It was practically implicit by fractional time."

Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)

- Sergi Roberto: 4 LaLiga goals implicit past 2 seasons (3 successful erstwhile 10 seasons combined)

- Ousmane Dembele's headed extremity was the 2nd of his nine vocation and archetypal since Feb. 18, 2017.

- Dembele joins Lionel Messi (19) and Kevin De Bruyne (16) arsenic the lone players from Europe's apical 5 leagues with astatine slightest 15 assists successful the 2022 calendar year.

- Dembele: archetypal Barcelona subordinate with 3 assists and a extremity successful a LaLiga crippled since Luis Suarez connected Dec. 21, 2019.

- Robert Lewandowski: 12 LaLiga goals this season. Memphis Depay led each Barcelona players with 12 goals successful LaLiga past season.

- Barcelona: Its 3 goals are its astir successful a archetypal fractional LaLiga crippled vs Athletic since 2012. Back then, Pique, Messi and Adriano scored 3 first-half goals successful a 5-1 victory.

Up next

Barcelona: Xavi's men look a must-win Champions League clash against Bayern Munich connected Oct. 26, followed by a LaLiga crippled against Valencia connected Oct. 29, and past the last lucifer of the Champions League radical signifier against Viktoria Plzen connected Nov. 1. Barca's hopes for knockout signifier qualification successful the UCL is hanging connected a thread arsenic they look dropping down into the Europa League for a 2nd consecutive season.

Athletic Club: Athletic look Villarreal adjacent connected Oct 30, followed by a sojourn to 17th spot Girona connected Nov. 4 and past a location crippled against Valladolid.