Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has credited Ousmane Dembele’s time at Barcelona for his tactical intelligence after the French winger came off the bench to inspire a 3-1 victory over Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Dembele made an immediate impact despite starting on the bench, contributing a goal and an assist to help PSG secure the win.
Enrique praised the 29-year-old’s understanding of the game, saying his experience at Barcelona had equipped him with the tactical awareness needed to adapt to different roles.
Enrique said: “He has been in the best school of football, which is FC Barcelona.
“In his way of playing, he already knew everything. Every time you have the opportunity to see a Barca player, he adapts to what I like in football.
“He understands perfectly if he must be wide or in the axis.
“Understanding the game is fundamental for us and when you have players who already have this experience, it is so different for us.”
The PSG coach also praised Dembele’s effectiveness, joking that the forward did not need more playing time after making such a decisive contribution.
The winger’s display followed his impressive performance against Manchester City in the Champions League, further strengthening his reputation as one of PSG’s most influential attacking players.
Enrique said: “I told him: ‘if you play 25 minutes to give an assist and score a goal, you don’t need to play more. It’s enough,’”
However, Dembele’s performance was not entirely flawless, as he missed a penalty during the match and was visibly frustrated by the attempt.
The miss comes amid PSG’s struggles from the spot this season, with the club converting only one of their four penalties so far.
Enrique acknowledged the problem, noting that although his squad had several players capable of taking penalties, they lacked a recognised specialist.
Also Read
He said: “He was upset because he missed the penalty. It’s true, we have a statistic that is a bit difficult to judge.
“But every time we have played in a final, we have had quality shooters.
“We have a lot of players who can shoot, but it’s true that we lack a specialist player.
“With Vitinha, Ousmane, there are many players who can take penalties.”
[wpadcenter_ad id='745970' align='none']