Madrid: Last Saturday against Malaga, Ernesto Valverde didn’t make too many personnel changes because of having one eye on the Champions League return against Chelsea.

Ousmane Dembele, however, was given another 90 minutes in which to shine. To begin to pay back the huge outlay that the Catalan club invested to acquire his services.

It was the perfect stage for the flying winger, the chance to lay a few ghosts to rest, and boy did he take it with both hands. It was, by a distance, Dembele’s best performance in a Barca shirt.

A great assist for Philippe Coutinho aside, the youngster was vibrant and lively all game. His passing was on point, his pace electric, and a shot or two at goal will have given him confidence.

He came to the club in a blaze of publicity and a huge fanfare, but injuries plus an associated loss of form had seen to it that the Frenchman hadn’t made quite the impact — to this point at least — that everyone expected.

Not off of the pace as such, Dembele’s on-pitch issues had been the result of poor decision making and, evidently, not yet being fully in tune with his attacking colleagues.

Lest we forget he is still just 20 years of age, and the transfer fee is largely an irrelevance. It’s the market that sets the bar as far as cost is concerned, all Dembele needs to do is ensure that he absorbs every piece of information and then puts it into practice. As he did at Malaga.

He has plenty of time on his side, and Barcelona will eventually expect more from him, but for now, he’s still in his honeymoon period.

People with short memories have forgotten that even Neymar struggled in his debut campaign with the Blaugrana. We didn’t start to see the best of the Brazilian until his second season when the Catalans went on to win their second treble.

They’re now on the cusp of a third and perhaps the real issue is Dembele being seen as Neymar MKII. He was never that, and never will be, but booing his every touch will be more of a hindrance than a help.

Malaga were a side so devoid of confidence that the only surprise would’ve been if Dembele had missed another opportunity. He was fed the ball as often as possible and it was noticeable how many times his teammates wanted to play him in. Expertly finding space within which to work, he was available and wanted the ball at all times.

That will be music to Ernesto Valverde’s ears.