Barcelona Fall to Celta Vigo in La Liga After Ousmane Dembele Leaves with Injury

Celta Vigo took a huge step toward avoiding relegation from La Liga after beating champions Barcelona 2-0 at Balaidos on Saturday night.

Goals from Maxi Gomez and Iago Aspas, who scored from the penalty spot late on, were enough to see off Barca, who rested Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Liverpool at Anfield.

An early hamstring injury for Ousmane Dembele weakened the visitors further, and Celta took full advantage, despite Nestor Araujo having a goal ruled out by VAR five minutes after the break.

The win puts Celta five points above the bottom three, although Real Valladolid have played a game less and host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Ousmane Dembele Must Leave Barcelona to Reset Career

Injuries, problems off the pitch and a general struggle to assert himself alongside bigger names. Whatever the reason, Dembele's career has gone backwards since he signed for Barca back in 2017.

He arrived at the Camp Nou as one of the hottest prospects in Europe, having proved his creative and goalscoring chops with Rennes and Borussia Dortmund. The Blaugrana paid a gaudy £135.5 million for that player but have rarely seen him since.

Now Dembele's best move is to leave Barca and reset his career in Europe. His trying times in Spain were summed up perfectly by the hamstring injury he suffered after just six minutes.

It's typical of the lousy luck Dembele has experienced in La Liga that he would pick up an injury when he's the one star name not rested. One more opportunity to prove his worth has passed him by at the worse time after he fluffed his lines to score a fourth late on against Liverpool on Wednesday.

The latest in a long line of setbacks has denied Dembele the chance to prove himself at Champions League level against Liverpool on Tuesday.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Dembele's brittle run is the knowledge of how effective he can be. The 21-year-old has the pace, technique and eye for a pass to unlock any defence on the continent.

He should be a prolific line of supply for Messi and Suarez, but Dembele's return continues to be meagre. The Frenchman has managed 14 goals and six assists across all competitions this season, solid numbers, but not those reflective of a player of his value and talent.

Dembele's numbers would likely be better on a team where he is the attacking talisman. Playing a support role to Messi and Suarez hasn't always suited him.

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The weight of expectation at a club where winning major trophies in style every season is the minimum requirement has also been a factor. Dembele has struggled to handle the responsibility, leading to his attitude being questioned.

Fortunately for Dembele, his raw potential will always make him appealing on the transfer market. A move to a club where expectations aren't quite as high, to a squad where he can be the star attraction, would soon get this mercurial forward back on track.

What's Next?

Barcelona make the trip to Merseyside on Tuesday, while Celta are away to Athletic Bilbao on May 12 in the penultimate game of the league season.