FC Barcelona winger, Ousmane Dembélé was all the Spanish giants needed to secure a 2-2 draw against Italian giants Juventus during a preseason game earlier today, July 27, 2022.
During the pre-season game which took place at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Ousmane Dembélé gave FC Barcelona the lead in the 34th minute. But the lead did not last for more than five minutes before Moise Kean scored the equalizer in the 39th minute.
When Dembélé who almost left Barca at the end of the 2021-2022 season scored the match opener, the 25-year-old did the “night night” celebration which was made popular by NBA icon Stephen Curry.
In the 40th minute, Ousmane Dembélé scored his second goal of the match to make it 2-1 before the end of the first half. After scoring the goal, the Frenchman hit the “night night” celebration once again.
Barca took the 2-1 lead into the second half of the pre-season friendly game but the lead did not last for too long before Moise Kean stepped up again to score the equalizer in the 50th minute.
After Kean’s equalizer, the two European giants could not do much in terms of scoring goals, hence, the two teams shared the points.
Ahead of the game, most fans of FC Barcelona were looking forward to seeing how Robert Lewandowski would perform in the pre-season game. Unfortunately for the Polish prolific striker who is yet to make an impact in Barca’s preseason games since he joined the club from Bayern Munich this summer, it was Ousmane Dembélé and Moise Kean of Juve that stole the show.
Dembélé’s performance gained more prominence due to how he had to mesmerize the spectators with two stunning goals against Juventus’ first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The icing on the cake for the Frenchman was his decision to hit the “night night” celebration each time he scored during the game.
“Dembele? Today he has shown what he is capable of,” Barca’s coach Xavi was quoted saying by Barça Universal after the match. “He is special, there are not many like him. He needs to make a difference and it has to be more consistent.”
Watch Ousmane Dembélé’s goals against Juventus and his “night night” celebration below:
#ICYMI, @dembouz put on a show last night! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/A0B02sVK51
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 27, 2022
HIGHLIGHTS:
— iR Sport (@iRSport_) July 27, 2022
Barcelona played a 2-2 draw against Juventus in a Pre season friendly match in Texas.
Two stunners from Ousmane Dembélé and a brace from Moise Kean.#BarçaJuve 🇺🇸 #Lewandowski #raphinha pic.twitter.com/PrCg9yE3yU
What is the “night night” celebration and Stephen Curry’s reaction?
The “night night” celebration which is also known as the sleep celebration was made popular recently by National Association Basketball (NBA) superstar Stephen Curry.
Just as you can see in Ousmane Dembélé’s celebration above, the “night night” celebration is done by placing your two palms together and resting one side of your cheek on it while acting like you are sleep-standing.
After Dembélé hit the celebration each time he scored against Juventus earlier today, Stephen Curry took to Twitter to describe the celebration as “A movement!!”
What are the stats and contract details of Ousmane Dembélé at FC Barcelona?
Ousmane Dembélé joined FC Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund on August 25, 2017, for a transfer fee worth €140million. Since then, he has shown that he is worth such an outrageous transfer fee a couple of times but has not been consistent due to the constant reoccurrence of injuries.
Amid that, Dembélé has managed to score 32 goals and provided 34 assists in 150 games in all competitions.
His previous contract with Barca expired on June 30, 2022. After a series of back and forth amid a series of transfer speculations, he signed a new two-year deal with the Spanish giants.
Based on his new deal with Barca, Ousmane Dembélé will earn a net salary of €11 million until June 30, 2024, when the new contract is expected to expire.
