After a miserable few days for Barcelona, there was finally some reason to be cheerful on Friday when the club announced the signing of Ousmane Dembele.The 20-year-old Frenchman is now the second most expensive player in history after Barca paid £135.5 million for him following Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain.The price tag alone makes the weight on Dembele’s shoulders a considerable. Factor in Barcelona’s recent difficulties and Neymar’s brilliance and the former Borussia Dortmund winger is under huge pressure."Dembele gives us width, something we lost and we needed," Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde said after the signing, per ESPN.“[His rise] has been impressive. A couple of years ago he was hardly known by anyone, but he's a player with a lot of quality.“Barca have been following him for a while, like other teams, and last year [with Dortmund] he proved he's a top-level player. We have a lot of hope deposited in him."Dembele will have to wait until next weekend to make his debut after being ruled ineligible for today’s trip to Alaves.
Messi had a penalty saved
Barca cannot afford to lose ground to Real Madrid early on but they were made to struggle in the opening 45 minutes, with Lionel Messi even missing a penalty.
The Argentinian saw his effort brilliantly saved from Fernando Pacheco, who actually started his career with Los Blancos.
Watch the penalty below.
Here’s how Twitter reacted.
Messi made up for things later though, by giving Barcelona the lead.
As brilliant a player as he is, Messi’s penalty record doesn’t make for great reading.
The responsibility on Messi to maintain his incredible level of performance has increased following Luis Suarez’s knee injury and Neymar’s departure.
He was joined in Barcelona’s attack against Alaves by Gerard Deulofeu and Sergi Roberto - that’s some drop off in talent from what he’s used to.
One imagines Messi is counting down the days until Dembele and Suarez are either side of him.
Valverde: Dembele is ready
Despite his young age, Valverde believes Dembele can cope with the pressure.
"These type of signings generate a lot of expectation, but we think Dembele is ready for that and we expect the best from him,” he added.
“I don't think, when he's on the pitch, he will be thinking about how much he cost."