Pampering for Dembélé in Riyadh

Ousmane Dembele suffered a ramp in the crash against Osasuna last Sunday, something that led to Xavi decide not to take risks with him and replace him with Philippe Coutinho in the final minutes of the match. As a precautionary measure, Xavi chose to pamper him yesterday in Riyadh. The delay in the transfer from the airport to the hotel affected the initial plans, with which both the press conferences offered Xavi Y Alves, as the Barça training were held later.

On the lawn of the Mirsool Park stadium, the scene of today’s duel against Boca to pay tribute to Maradona, Xavi initially bet on the players who are most likely in the eleven against the Argentine team to play the Maradona Cup. grandchild, in addition to Iñaki Peña as goalkeepers, the debutant Alves, Eric, Lenglet, Mingueza; Matheus, Riqui Puig, Coutinho, Dest Y iron they were the first to exercise. Input was not Luke de Jong, but it should not be ruled out that he is in eleven except that Xavi bet on Jutglà. Later, without the press as an observer, those who were headlines in Pamplona and those who played with the subsidiary against Atlético Baleares also joined the work on the pitch, after having previously made a recovery in the stadium gym. All but Dembele, who got up later and barely stayed for a few minutes. Taking into account the Frenchman’s injury history, and the trust he has placed in him Xavi, the technician does not want to run a single risk that he could fall out of combat again, hence he pampers him to the fullest.