Xavi: “Ousmane Dembele is at the same level as the best Neymar”

Following an impressive start to the 2022-23 season, Barcelona manager Xavi claimed,

Ousmane Dembele is currently "at the same level as the best Neymar." In five games for the Catalan team this season, the 25-year-old has one goal and four assists, including two in Wednesday's 5-1 Champions League victory over Viktoria Plzen.

Xavi paid respect to the attacker after the match in Europe. The attacker left Barcelona at the end of June on a free transfer before returning to the team not long after.

"Dembele is in excellent form. He's happy. He's enjoying himself, and he's very important to me."

"He assists and he scores. He's like a dagger, and we have to take advantage of that,"

Xavi told reporters.

"Dembele is at the same level as the best Neymar. He had suffered a lot in his first years here, but I always said it. He has great abilities, and he deserves everything that is happening to him."

"There are no wingers in the world that can cut inside to both sides like Dembele can. I had never seen a player with his ability to dribble 1v1. You rarely find players like that. Trust me, he's an amazing player."

Dembele was linked to teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain over the summer. He has 33 goals and 38 assists in 155 games for Barcelona across all competitions.

The Frenchman, though, recently admitted that he had never considered playing for another team.

"There was none of that (pre-agreement with another club), I only spoke with Barca. And I told my representative only Barca and in the end we are all happy,"

he told Mundo Deportivo.

"Since Xavi arrived, I have lived my best moments at Barca. For me, or for the other wingers, his way of seeing football suits us very well. The relationship with Xavi is very good, he has always told me the truth, he supports me a lot and I am happy."

Robert Lewandowski, who scored three goals in the European match, was also praised by Xavi, who called the Polish international"a marvellous person and professional."

"Lewandowski is insatiable. Hat-trick for Lewandowski today. But not only that, he plays and he makes the team play. He knows the third man, and reads space to perfection. I'm in love. His signing was fantastic,";

Xavi added.

"We never had any doubts with the signing of Lewandowski. We knew his abilities, his humility, and he had a great desire to sign for Barcelona. He's a marvellous person and professional, really.

"I don't know if Lewandowski is the best striker in Europe, but he is the best striker for us. Lewandowski... who else? [Karim] Benzema too. I think they're the best right? [ErlingBraut] Haaland too. But it's difficult to compare them."

When Barcelona resumes their domestic season on the road against Cadiz on Saturday night, they will be attempting to make it four straight La Liga victory.

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