This is PSG’s first major meeting tomorrow on the continental scene. In this 2nd day of the Champions League, the double European champion goes to the Etihad Stadium (Wednesday, 9 p.m.) to face a big player: Manchester City. The English club are in the eye of the storm at the moment due to the Premier League Financial Fair Play breaches they are accused of. As for the Ile-de-France club, the subject of the moment is Ousmane Dembélé. Between his rest phases decided by the club and his somewhat laborious start to the season, the Ballon d’Or press conference was awaited.
He was inevitably bombarded with questions about his absence last weekend against Le Mans. It at least had the merit of amusing him. “I spoke with the coach who gave me a few days off. I took advantage of my family and friends. It was very calm and peaceful. There is nothing to say about that (laughs)”he begins. He often says that he needs to play to get back into the rhythm of the competition, but he had already been rested after the first Ligue 1 match in Rennes where he was not there. Obviously, there is reason to wonder about his situation.
“When I need rest, Luis Enrique lets me know»
However, there is no reason to be surprised. “I spoke with the coach especially after the matches with the France team. He accepted that I would not play on Saturday. It’s not really a topic. When I need rest, he lets me know. Afterwards, I am a competitor, I want to play but when you play 70 or 80 matches over a season, you cannot play all the time. He (Luis Enrique) knows how to handle that.» The 29-year-old striker accepts this situation and trusts his coach, especially since the latter has a very rich squad, and can afford to occasionally do without his best players.
“These last two seasons, we have passed the mark of 50 or 60 matches if you go to the end of the competitions. It is the coach who decides, who distributes the workload. He knows what I need and what I don’t. In the locker room, this topic makes people laugh more than anything else.» Move around, there is nothing to see. Except that his start to the season is not really flamboyant. Dembélé played 7 matches in all competitions with his club for 2 goals and 4 assists. He mainly achieved his statistics against Slovan Bratislava on the first day of C1 (2 goals and 2 assists). The rest of the time, he was rather disappointing, especially with the French team.
“I’m happy with my start to the season»
However, he is satisfied. “I’m happy with my start to the season. It’s still October. We play the matches quietlyhe explains. I am really calm about what will happen in the future. We had to react because we had not won our first Ligue 1 matches. We had to give ourselves a cruising speed and prepare well for the future. I am very calm at the start of the season. The team is riding well too. There were quite a few new ones who adapted well. It’s the first part of the season, you have to be on target.» Nothing to worry about, according to him. The season is just getting started, and it’s still long.
