Xavi hails ‘lethal’ Dembele’ as having ‘matured’ and being amongst the best in the world

Ousmane Dembele was praised as “lethal” by

manager Xavi who thinks the Frenchman has proven himself to be amongst the best of the best.

Barcelona faced Real Sociedad, who went down to 10 man in the first half, in the Copa del Rey but despite Blaugrana failing to find the net, it was

who rescued them by scoring in the 52nd minute from a Jules Kounde pass, garnering praise from Xavi who insisted that Dembele has “matured” into a great player.

"I think Dembele has matured a lot since we took over. We have just given him the tools. He is lethal. We always say when he comes inside, he has to shoot more because he has that quality and he can make the difference in games,"

Xavi told reporters after the match.

"You see the faces of the full-backs, they suffer. We have just given him confidence. He has so much potential. I believe in him. I think a lot of this comes down to making the right decisions. He is also enjoying himself and the fans are enjoying him."

Dembele, who has had 15 direct goal contributions this season, has previously struggled with injuries but he seems to have put those issues behind.

"I am delighted for him because he is a good guy and a good professional. He has turned things around and that is not easy at Barca,"

Xavi added.

"He's the one full of confidence and quality. We try to guide him. For me, he is one of the best in the world in his position. He has so much quality, but from there you have to believe in yourself. At Barca, it's important to have that mentality to believe that you can influence games."

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