Barcelona Laud Dembele’s Performance

Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona forward’s much-lauded performance in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Chelsea saw the Frenchman take a step towards repaying the club's huge outlay on him after a debut season in Spain which has been blighted by injury.

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Lionel Messi was the name on everyone's lips after capping another mesmeric Champions League display with two goals in the last-16 second leg win which set up a 4-1 aggregate victory, but Dembele was next in line for praise.

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The 20-year-old struck his first goal in a Barca shirt since his €105 million move from Borussia Dortmund in August to put Barca 2-0 up, ruthlessly rifling home a pass from Messi.

He then pleasantly surprised supporters with a perfectly-timed tackle to foil Chelsea's Marcos Alonso in the second half.

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"He's a very important player who covered a lot for us in defence. He demands a lot of himself in defence and denied them a clear goal," Barca defender Jordi Alba told reporters.