It is clear that Ousmane Dembele has overtaken Philippe Coutinho in the pecking order at Barcelona and that was confirmed by assistant Jon Aspiazu after they fell to defeat in the Copa del Rey at Levante on Thursday evening.
The Brazilian is far from the level he showed himself capable of reaching at times last season and, instead, it is the Frenchman who has corrected his mistakes and pushed on at the Camp Nou.
If Coutinho was key for Barcelona’s 2017/18 title win, he is now almost an unnecessary squad member in LaLiga Santander and only starts in the Copa del Rey.
In the league, he hasn’t started since facing Villarreal on December 2, while Dembele has become an undisputed name on the team sheet since his early season troubles have passed.
Dembele apologised to his teammates and, since then, everything has been smooth sailing for him as the last game he didn’t start was on 24 November against Atletico Madrid, when he still scored a crucial 90th minute goal.
Starting against Villarreal, Espanyol, Levante, Celta Vigo and Getafe, as well as PSV and Tottenham, Dembele has three goals and three assists, with his goal against Spurs bringing the Camp Nou to its feet.
Coutinho, meanwhile, has suffered and, Levante aside, is without a goal since El Clasico on October 28.
In 1559 minutes this season, Coutinho has six goals and four assists.
Dembele’s numbers are far superior as he has ten goals and five assists in just 1627 minutes, making his place in the team hard to argue against.