Ernesto Valverde has said that Ousmane Dembele still needs to improve in certain areas but the Barcelona coach has every confidence in the France forward coming good.
He did start Wednesday’s Catalan Super Cup win over Espanyol, although his appearance raised more concerns as he struggled to impact the game during his 60 minutes on the pitch.
“Dembele is a player that is always prepared to take on opponents, he’s a dribbler, he’s powerful, he’s good with both feet… that’s a lot of qualities,” Valverde said in a news conference before Saturday’s league game against Malaga.
“It’s true that at certain moments he has to improve in the final third, but he’s still just 20 years old.
It’s a question of experience. With time we have faith that he will learn and improve.”
“I’m not planning for the game to be a test, I am planning to win it,” he said. “It would be an error to look at it in any other way. Teams that are at the bottom and needing results in the final stage of the season usually get them. They’re all giving 200 percent.”
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