Paris Saint-Germain validated its ticket for the grand final of the Coupe de France after its victory against Stade Rennais (1-0) on Wednesday evening, on the lawn of the Parc des Princes. A minimum service carried out by Luis Enrique's troops which allows us to officially meet Olympique Lyonnais, victorious on Tuesday against Valenciennes in the other semi-final of the competition. For this meeting against Rennes, the Spanish coach had lined up the heavy artillery: his classic 4-3-3 was thus renewed and composed of an offensive line that was still as special as ever. If Kylian Mbappé still acted as a flagship attacker and Kang in-Lee as a twirling winger. It is the use of Ousmane Dembélé that continues to take the spotlight. The former Dortmund player, who also faced his training club this Wednesday evening, has become, over the last few months, Luis Enrique's handyman. Much more than a winger, much more than just an explosive player.
As early as November, Luis Enrique was full of praise for the Vernon native: “He’s a different, unique player. He always asks for the ball, he is never afraid to do things, he accepts criticism. It's a chance to have a player like him. He not only plays on the side but also in the center. He generates so much for the team that assists or goals don't matter. He is the most unbalancing player in the world., had then clarified the former coach of La Roja at the start of the season, a period when Dembélé caused a lot of ink to flow in the press due to a goal and assist counter that remained empty for a long time. Since then, water has flowed under the bridges and everyone has understood to what extent Dembélé was a valuable, if not indispensable, player. This meeting against Rennes is the perfect illustration.
He made everyone agree!
Positioned as a false nine, Ousmane Dembélé was simply everywhere with 101 balls touched. Free to move at the heart of the game, he delighted in finding numerous gaps through his passing game, from the start of the match where he launched Kylian Mbappé for the first hot action of the match (12th) before a festival of dribbling in the area, even though he was surrounded by several opponents: “Ousmane Dembélé is a technically superior player, almost unplayable with both feet. It is not known whether he is right-handed or left-handed. I believe that with his interior position we are approaching the best version of Ousmane. I don't worry about his last touch before reaching the goal. It doesn't matter to me. It generates danger. He will improve. He is improving and scoring a lot of goals in training. So, it's not a problem. What he generates, all these chances, is very positive for the team because he is almost unstoppable for his opponents., explained the Spanish coach at length. Since taking office on the PSG bench, Luis Enrique has never hidden the importance that Ousmane Dembélé had in his system but the French international is praised beyond the Parisian borders.
Indeed, Julien Stéphan did not mince his words when a question about Ousmane Dembélé was asked to him at a post-match press conference. Restless, lively and explosive, the former Barça player did very badly at Stade Rennais. In the second half, PSG number 10 even made several defensive returns, sometimes with some excess commitment. Used to being singled out for his waste, Dembélé finished the match with 84% of successful passes, including 100% in deep passes. He also completed nine of his thirteen dribbles: “When we talk about Ousmane, we always talk about his faults. I always answer about his qualities, he is an extraordinary player in terms of imbalance and dribbling. If he had a higher quality of finish, he might be Ballon d’Or, it’s true.”, also underlined the coach of the Breton team. While the month of April promises to be thunderous, Ousmane Dembélé continues to become indispensable in the game of Paris Saint-Germain and this comes at the best of times, one week before the major European events where Dembélé will return to his former club, the FC Barcelona for an explosive and expected game next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes. And when we know that a certain number 7 will leave the French capital next June, Parisian supporters can sleep soundly, the PSG attack will be just as efficient next season…
