In the early morning of April 17, Beijing time, in a key battle in the second leg of the Champions League 1/4 finals, Grand Paris reversed Barcelona 4-1 away, eliminated the opponent with a total score of 6-4, and advanced to the top 4 of the Champions League. In this game, Barcelona's "traitor" Dembele, who played in Paris, smiled in the face of Barcelona's home boos after eliminating the old owner.
After the game, Dembele responded to the Barcelona fans in an interview: "Do the Barcelona fans welcome me? I think I can treat this very well, because I have already experienced the feeling of being booed in Barcelona in 2021. I'm not going to change my game for the boos of the fans. I stay focused. I gave my all. Score here and get 1 penalty. I'm happy with my performance. ”
In the first leg, Dembele scored a Barcelona goal, and after the goal, Dembele ran excitedly to celebrate, which also annoyed Barcelona fans. In the second leg, when Dembele arrived in Barcelona, he was greeted by the Barcelona fans, who booed the traitor every time Dembele picked up the ball.
But Dembele was not intimidated by the boos from the Barcelona fans, and although Barca had extended their lead to 4-2 at home thanks to Raphinha's goal, Dembele scored in the 39th minute to close the lead after Araujo was sent off. In the 61st minute, Dembele was tackled by Cancelo and created a penalty for Grand Paris, scoring two goals in two legs and creating a penalty, and he was also elected the official best player of the game.
Ironically, Dembele's two goals against Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League have already surpassed his tally of goals in Ligue 1 this season (one). In addition, Dembele's Champions League knockout goal tally in Paris has also equaled his Champions League knockout goal tally at Barcelona.
Dembele moved to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for €135 million in the summer window of 2017, but during his six years at Barca, he did not fully realise his talent. In the summer window last year, Dembele left Barcelona for 50 million euros to join Grand Paris. Now, with Dembele's three goals in the fight against the old boss, he has undoubtedly become a "traitor" in the eyes of Barcelona fans.