The renewed Barcelona team, under the leadership of its Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, will meet its host Granada on Saturday, at a time when French winger Osman Dembele prepares to maintain its presence in the basic formation of the Catalan club.
Dembele, who joined Barcelona from the ranks of Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for 147 million euros ($ 180 million), suffered from a series of various injuries, and was on the verge of leaving the Spanish genie last summer.
But Dembley decided to stay and fight for the sake of participation mainly, and it seems that he has convinced Koeman and recently achieved his goals.
This is how "Barcelona" won against "Athletic Bilbao"
Watch the match summary # AthleticBarça 👇 # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/QiLkpcem4J
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
Dembele participated from the start for the second match in a row, and contributed to Barcelona's victory over Athletic Bilbao with 3 goals to two goals on Wednesday evening, to advance the Catalan club to the golden box for the first time this season.
Dembele cooperated well with Lionel Messi, Pedri Gonzalez and his compatriot Antoine Griezmann, and showed a great deal of confidence, something that he often missed during his career at Barcelona.
Dembele's good performance came a few days after he appeared well against Huesca, helping to break through the opponent's solid defenses to contribute to the difficult 1-0 victory.
The future is still wide open for Dembele due to the fact that he is 23 years old, but he must maintain his physical fitness and stay away from injuries in order to increase his successes with the Catalan club, where he has scored only two goals in 11 games this season.
the present and the future.
🤗🔝⚽
Describe this fun second in the word __________ # AthleticBarça #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/OkPUONQYUx
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
Messi and Pedri
The understanding between Messi and Pedri was also decisive for Barcelona, as they cooperated together in the three goals against Bilbao.
Fire a fire, Messi 🔥🤯 # AthleticBarça #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/V9xTFMLPrc
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
"Pedri appears, despite his young age, to be very mature," Koeman said.
"Messi's performance and determination is always clear, but he really showed that through his two goals (against Bilbao). He is a very important player," he added.
Past, present, and future! 🤗👏😍
🔥 @ fcbarcelona_ara 🔥 # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/4tihTOTxG2
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
Barcelona's attacking streak is expected to remain the same against seventh-placed Granada, who beat Deportiva Leonessa 2-1 in the second round of the King's Cup on Wednesday night.
Ninth-placed Bilbao faces a more difficult confrontation on Saturday, as it meets leaders Atlético Madrid.
Atletico, led by Argentine coach Diego Simeone, leads the Spanish League table, two points ahead of Real Madrid's closest chasers, and has two postponed matches.
Real Madrid, led by French coach Zinedine Zidane, is looking to continue the pressure on Atletico in the lead, through the match that brings him to his host Osasuna on Saturday, although the match at El Sadar stadium faces threats related to the fluctuations of the weather.
The city of Pamplona (northern Spain) was exposed to heavy snowfall due to the storm Dora, and Osasuna's training stadium becomes covered with snow, but so far the match is expected to take place on time.
Real Madrid misses the efforts of its wing Rodrygo, but the good performance of Lucas Vasquez and Marco Asensio makes French Karim Benzema reassuring in the royal attack, with their presence on the wings.
Caught # LaLigaSantander.⚽🔥
Who will decide this season? 😜🤔 # YouHaveToLiveIt pic.twitter.com/F8hTYgdoCP
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
The 18th round of the Spanish League kicks off on Friday, with the Celta Vigo match with Villarreal.
Saturday Sevilla will meet Real Sociedad, while Levante will meet Eibar, Cadiz with Alaves, Elche with Getafe and Valladolid with Valencia, with the tour concluding on Monday with the Huesca match with Real Betis.