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Ousmane Dembele scored and assisted three others as Barcelona warmed up for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich by thrashing Athletic Bilbao 4-0 at Camp Nou.
Xavi’s team raced into a three-goal lead before half-time in Thursday’s mauling of Villarreal and they repeated the trick on Sunday as Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski joined Dembele on the scoresheet within 22 minutes.
Having set up Roberto and Lewandowski, Dembele continued to terrorise Athletic after the break and helped Barca add some gloss when he teed up Ferran Torres for a neat finish late on.
The result moved Barca back to within three points of leaders Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings, with Los Blancos having moved clear with a 3-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday.
Dembele opened the scoring after 12 minutes, testing Unai Simon before nodding in Lewandowski’s cross after the striker had recycled the loose ball.
There was more fortune about Barca’s second, which arrived when Roberto’s shot deflected beyond Simon from a tight angle following Dembele’s through-ball.
Dembele played a role again in Barca’s third as Athletic crumbled, driving inside from the right to feed Lewandowski, who swivelled and lashed into the roof of the net.
Barca suffered a blow when Gavi limped off following a collision with Dani Garcia before the break, but they almost scored a fourth when Garcia’s clearance hit Pedri and crashed against the post.
Dembele showcased his creative qualities once again when Barca completed the rout after 73 minutes, drilling a low cross into Torres, who shifted the ball to his right foot before finishing coolly.
Barcelona face Bayern in a huge Champions League contest on Wednesday, while Athletic host Villarreal in LaLiga on Sunday.
Real Madrid are top on 31 points from 11 games, while Barcelona have 28 points.