Ousmane Dembélé (29) wasn’t even in the Paris Saint-Germain squad to face Le Mans FC last weekend. The France international was given a break, with a key UEFA Champions League tie against Manchester City coming up on the Wednesday.
After being granted holidays by Luis Enrique, he returned to training on the Sunday. Dembélé would go on to net one of PSG’s four goals at the Etihad en route to victory over Manchester City (2-4).
Post-match, the Frenchman joked that he may ask for even more holiday later in the season. “After the international break, I went on holiday. In fact, I might just ask for another one…,” he quipped on CanalPlus.“On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I really enjoy playing… especially when I’m back from holiday!”
Dembélé on the scoresheet again for PSG
On Friday, Luis Enrique responded to the Ballon d’Or winner. “He’s the boss! If he wants holiday [leave], he makes the request; he will get it,” joked the PSG manager ahead of the game against RC Strasbourg Alsace. “He is always joking. I like his way of experiencing football, his passion for football.It is clearly a joke, but I am always open if players need rest,” he added.
It was once again a rotated side that faced Strasbourg on Saturday, but once again, the cavalry was called upon around the hour mark. Dembélé was one of those to come on with PSG 1-0 down. He missed a penalty but then went on to set up Illia Zabarnyi’s equaliser in the 77th minute. He put Les Parisiens ahead in the 85th minute. Désiré Doué added the third goal in a 3-1 win in injury time. Barcelona await on Tuesday.