After years flirting with the bouncers outside football’s elite club, Moussa Dembele appeared to have finally bypassed the velvet rope thanks to an iconic Champions League performance against Manchester City.
Coming off the bench when Lyon needed a goal, the £20 million striker did better than that. He scored not once but twice, firing Rudi Garcia’s side into the semi-finals of Europe’s premiere club competition for the first time in a decade.
But just as Dembele was about to take a seat at Robert Lewandowski’s table, the doors to the most exclusive of clubs slammed shut in his face.
Then again, he had no one to blame but himself. With the memory of those Champions League heroics fading, Dembele’s form deserted him.
After 11 games of the new Ligue 1 season, the former Celtic talisman had failed to open his account. In fact, no player in Europe’s top leagues had attempted more shots (23) without scoring.
Suddenly, no one was talking about Dembele as one of Europe’s finest centre-forwards.
The Sun even suggested that Lyon were ready to sell a man who scribed his name into club folklore just three months earlier, with a £30 million offer enough to twist the Rhone giants’ arm amid apparent interest from West Ham United.
But at the 12th time of asking, Dembele has finally done something to justify his £30 million price-tag.
Just like against Manchester City in August, the France U21 international netted from the bench on Sunday.
The stage was a little less glamourous of course, with Lyon already 2-0 up and cruising against ten-man Reims, but Dembele’s finish was just as impressive as the one that had Pep Guardiola sinking to his knees.
Drifting in behind the visitor’s defence, he lofted a sublime first-time chip into the far corner.
“I was right to say that we weren’t worried about him. (But) for a striker, a number 9, a centre-forward, it’s always important to score,” coach Rudi Garcia told Foot Mercato.
“We know he was waiting for it (this goal). He scored two a few weeks ago (against St Etienne), which were ruled out for offside. But he hasn’t stopped working,” added winger Maxwel Cornet.
“I think that’s the guy’s state of mind. He’s a great guy, a hard worker. This afternoon, he was rewarded.”
If West Ham fans were wondering why on earth they would pay £30 million for a striker in the worst goal-drought of his career, Dembele’s Sunday stunner felt very much like a well-timed reminder of what he is capable of.
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