PSG: Dembélé, a return to basics in the form of a new start?

Ousmane Dembélé, the return. Six years after his departure, the French international (39 caps, 4 goals) returns to Rohazon Park and Stade Rennais this Sunday (8:45 p.m.), at the end of the eighth day of Ligue 1. The match after for PSG , swept away at Newcastle (4-1) on Wednesday, in the Champions League. Despite his activity, “Dembouz” had not been able to prevent the debacle of a team which did not have much… of a team in fact. Activity, not efficiency. Still no efficiency, one would be tempted to say. The native of Vernon is still chasing his first goal in Parisian colors, he who has only made one assist. However, there is no shortage of opportunities for Dembélé, very involved in the game by Luis Enrique and who shines with his waste in Paris. Sometimes, it doesn't go far, like at St-James' Park, sometimes, it's almost laughable, like against Nice (2-3 defeat).

Nothing to worry about his coach, who sees him as a “world class” player. “He's an extraordinary talent, he's doing very well so far,” noted the Spanish technician on the eve of Newcastle-PSG. He creates a lot of danger, he is very fast and he will score goals during the season, make even more assists. He is progressing well but he still has room to do better.” A fairly obvious margin from the point of view of statistics, starving until now. Although, of course, it is simplistic to judge a player only on numbers.

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And especially when it comes to Ousmane Dembélé, all the more essential as PSG really needs his creativity after the departures of Leo Messi, Neymar and Marco Verratti last summer. Not to mention his physical and athletic qualities which allow him to take the depth at will, there is his ability to stretch opposing defenses which is very appreciable, in order to give Kylian Mbappé more space to operate but also to open up breaches at Achraf Hakimi, with whom the current passes very well on the right. It is not Didier Deschamps who would say the opposite, he who knows well that “Dembouz” “always has this ability to create enormous problems for the opponent with his speed and his percussion”, but who is also fully aware that waste is part of his game. That does not prevent the coach from having made the neo-Parisian his starter on the right, rather than Kingsley Coman. And this while the Munich player now manages to be regularly decisive.

For Dembélé, it's not yet that. But is this surprising? The boy has never upset the scorers since his professional debut. Rather, he regularly shone with his ability to make bad decisions in the zone of truth, in the last or penultimate gesture. At making differences, the Norman is a master. To finish the actions, it's something else... He has only exceeded 10 goals in a season four times, including the 2015-16 campaign in Rennes (12 goals, 5 assists) and the following, with Dortmund (10 goals, 21 assists). It's been a while... This year in the colors of Borussia is his best in terms of statistics.

Figures which had pushed Barça, who had just had Neymar stolen by… PSG, to bet €145 million including bonus. Only 135 fell into Borussia's coffers in the end, in particular due to the numerous injuries which punctuated the brilliant ambidextrous six years at Camp Nou (40 goals, 43 assists in 185 matches). “If in addition to everything he does very well, that is to say this ability to destabilize, to eliminate, he adds greater efficiency... If we take the example of the match at Newcastle, his recovery of volley from the left and his shot into the area, these are two good gestures, it is played a few centimeters away. It could happen that he has a little less precision in the last gesture or in the area. He's one of (those players), like Kingsley was at one point, who needs to improve that. But Ousmane knows it,” analyzes “DD” with leniency, he who has never spared Dembélé in his comments, particularly on lifestyle. “He’s a more built, more mature player,” he said during last winter’s World Cup.

And Didier Deschamps continued: “If he manages to concretize everything he does with goals, it would take on a little more value, weight. I will not take away this ability to eliminate and destabilize the opponent. It requires effort because they are quite long sprints, the thrill inevitably increases. Having lucidity and accuracy after an effort is a little more complicated. But he knows that it is in this aspect that he has a good margin of progress.

It's clear. Obviously, Ousmane Dembélé's failures are all the more apparent when the rest of the Parisian attack is slowing down, as was the case on Wednesday in C1. Luis Enrique had however lined up four attackers at kick-off, with Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani and Gonçalo Ramos in addition to Dembélé. A blow for nothing. The quality of the offensives is not necessarily proportional to the number of attackers present on the field, we know this well and “Lucho” paid to see. Although, the Asturian is still convinced that his battle plan was the right one in the north of England, he reiterated it in a lunar press conference on Saturday, at the Poissy training center. However, the good will of the person concerned is not enough. Neither does the taste for the show. “I like to please the supporters who come to the stadium, to give joy, to dribble, to get the crowds up,” said the former resident of the Rennes training center upon his arrival in the capital. There is no doubt that the Parisian public will rise with as much enthusiasm, if not more, when “Dembouz” shakes the nets at the Parc des Princes…

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In the meantime, it is at the bottom of those at Rohazon Park that Ousmane Dembélé will try to send the ball this Sunday, in a dangerous match for PSG. Rennes, which had two fewer days of recovery, has often tormented the capital club in recent years. Bruno Génésio too, even when he was officiating in Lyon. Who better than a veteran of the house to shake up the Rennais? In any case, the ex-Parisians never shy away from the club with 11 L1 titles… An old habit. The titi Arnaud Kalimuendo will, in this sense, be one to watch closely on the PSG side.

“He’s a different, extraordinary player,” swears Lucas Hernandez, about his comrade in the selection and now in the club. I know him since a long time. He's a magnificent person, he adapted quickly. He feels very good and is very happy to be here. On the ground, it shows,” insists the ex-Munichois. Besides the fact that he was impatiently awaited by his “brother” Mbappé, Dembélé already had his habits in the capital before signing in Paris. His name has often been mentioned in the PSG orbit in recent years. Leonardo dreamed of it, Luis Campos did it. A priori, with a big help from Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. It must be said that at €50 million, the amount of his release clause, it was a bargain.

Luis Enrique, for his part, is full of praise, reminding journalists who are a little too binary for his taste that “everything is not black or white, there is gray. I am very happy with his performance. His stats will improve, I have no doubt about that. But I'm not worried and I don't think we should put pressure on the players. (...) He is a very complete player, an ideal player for a coach like me who wants to have possession. It creates imbalances. He played well at Newcastle. He could provide goals and assists but I am very happy with his performances and his attitude,” asserts “Lucho”. “He can make the difference at any time and we have confidence in him,” adds Hernandez about the man who scored 14 goals with Barça in 2018-19, his career best. Anytime? This Sunday, in Rennes, just to avoid a second consecutive setback, it wouldn't be bad. Especially since the leading teams are advancing quickly...