Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde was full of praise for Ousmane Dembele after his wonder-goal saw his side lift the Supercopa de Espana against Sevilla.
The Spanish champions had to come from behind after Pablo Sarabia scored after just nine minutes, but managed to level the game before half-time when Gerard Pique fired a rebound off a Lionel Messi free-kick.
But it was Dembele's stunner into the top corner in the 78th minute which gave Barcelona the hard-fought 2-1 victory and left Valverde happy with his team's performance.
Dembele was loosely linked with a summer exit after enduring a difficult first season at the Nou Camp, suffering from injuries and poor form, but Valverde was keen to hail the 21-year-old for his impact.
"We need a bit of shooting practice, but we are happy because in spite of everything, we have beaten a great rival," Valverde told the club's official website.
"We fell behind and that cost us, but we got better as the game went on.
"He (Dembele) is a player with great qualities and today has left us with something to be happy about in a difficult match."
The drama continued throughout the match, with Sevilla having plenty of chances to find a second goal, but a missed penalty from substitute Wissam Ben Yedder in the 90th minute secured the win for Barca.
"The most complicated thing when you play against a super team is that you have to compete, that means making it difficult for the opponent with all your weapons. We've done it, Sevilla boss Pablo Machin told a press conference.
"We were ahead many minutes and when we were behind, we were able to come back and the penalty came and if we scored the penalty, we multiplied the options.
"We could have won the game, but we did not score that penalty and Barca became the champions."
PA
