This is the subject that has driven PSG news in recent days. While PSG had to face Arsenal during the 2nd day of the Champions League. Luis Enrique had decided to do without Ousmane Dembélé, absent from the group. A sanction from the Spanish coach since the Frenchman was not injured. “I’m very sincere, but I’m not going to make a telenovela out of it. There was no argument between the coach and the player, that is completely false. There is just a problem of commitment from the player to the team and not between the player and the coach.explained Luis Enrique in a press conference before the match while the press revealed a muscular exchange between the two men after the PSG match against Rennes.
At the same time, we revealed some details about this sidelining. The French international had arrived very late for training without justification, which had provoked the ire of Luis Enrique who had directly removed him from the group against Arsenal. Since then, PSG lost to the Gunners (0-2) and a discussion took place between the two men. Ousmane Dembélé has returned to training and can claim to regain his place in the Parisian eleven this weekend against Nice. But this incident will leave its mark and will not resolve the rather turbulent relationship between the former Barça winger and his coach.
Ousmane Dembélé feels like he’s being held back
Indeed, The Team makes us revelations about the relationship between the two men and the 27-year-old winger’s reproaches to his coach. Since this summer and the departure of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé has wanted to take a new step in his club and establish himself as the offensive leader of the team. Which therefore means taking more responsibilities on the ground. And he had mentioned this publicly in the press explaining that he wanted “be a little more personal”. But this personal ambition took a hit at the start of the season. The French daily reveals that Luis Enrique’s decision to appoint Vitinha as penalty taker was misunderstood by the Frenchman. The latter had expressed his disappointment in the locker room on the evening of the Le Havre-PSG match, the day when Vitinha had decided to leave his penalty to Kolo Muani at the end of the match when Ousmane Dembélé wanted to take it.
But that’s not all. Ousmane Dembélé also has difficulty with Luis Enrique’s offensive instructions. The Team explains that the player has difficulty coping with certain instructions from his coach who tends to limit him in taking the initiative with the ball. Against Rennes, the Spanish coach clearly criticized his player for being too selfish and not thinking enough about his teammates. A remark that did not go through for the Frenchman who still had the feeling of having personal objectives (particularly in terms of statistics) slowed down by his coach. If the two men have since moved on, it risks leaving traces. The French daily even specifies that it has not escaped the group’s notice that, last season, for similar quarrels with other players, Luis Enrique had been more lenient. It remains to be seen whether Ousmane Dembélé will move on and refocus on his football and his interesting start to the season (4 goals, 4 assists).
