Having been cold for weeks, Ousmane Dembélé and Luis Enrique seem to have started the start of a reconciliation since PSG/OL (3-1). It remains to be seen whether the latter will be lasting or temporary.
Luis Enrique and Ousmane Dembélé are not brothers, nor the best friends in the world, but respect each other and the first even has a real affection for the second, which does not prevent him from being hard with him and leaving him on the bench sometimes, or even not calling him up for a match as important as that of Arsenal when he considers that his player has exceeded the limits.
After the expulsion of the French international in Munich, “a serious mistake” according to the Spaniard, Dembélé had been sent to the bench against Nantes (1-1) and Auxerre (0-0) and had not shown a strong desire to make a difference when he came into play. According to L’Equipe , Dembélé and Luis Enrique did not particularly explain themselves following the red in Munich and had entered into a strange game recently.
PSG/OL, new turning point in the Dembélé/Luis Enrique relationship?
On the one hand, the Spaniard would have remained calm and smiling with his player in training, without then explaining to him why he was a substitute against Nantes and Auxerre, which everyone interpreted as a punishment, even if against Auxerre, Dembélé’s replacement status was undoubtedly also justified by the proximity of the match against Salzburg for which he was suspended.
Ousmane Dembélé was in any case not very sharp during these famous two returns against Nantes and Auxerre and could give the impression of a player who was sulking and who did not particularly want to give his life for his coach. In this sense, Dembélé’s tenure against Lyon, in a central role that he likes, can be interpreted as a step from the coach towards his player. Dembélé paid it forward by opening the score quickly and showing some interesting things, even if he didn’t succeed entirely against OL.
“We try to do everything so that PSG grows and wins titles”
“As he said at a press conference, we are not brothers, he is not my father. We’re not bros. It’s a coach-player relationship. I’ve known him a little more, for a long time. That’s it, we’re trying to do everything so that PSG grows, wins titles, plays well and pleases everyone.”reacted Dembélé in the mixed zone after the victory against Lyon.
Asked about Dembélé on Tuesday at a press conference, on the eve of Monaco/PSG, Luis Enrique had quite warm words: “I have always been a defender of Ousmane as a player and as a person, he is excellent, friendly. He’s a very important player.”. But the Spaniard then recalled that he was the boss and that he treated all his players the same way: “I want Ousmane to give the best version of himself. And I want the same thing with everyone. If I consider that I have to make a decision with a player, I make it. Whether it’s with a player with whom I speak a lot or with a player with whom I speak less. »
While the two men certainly won’t be going on vacation together, they seem to have understood that they need each other to achieve their goals and lift trophies this season. Logic would therefore dictate that Dembélé will start again this Wednesday evening in Monaco for an important match in the title race. In the axis as against Lyon or on the right in the event of Gonçalo Ramos’ return to the eleven? This is one of the many questions from the Monaco/PSG pre-match. Response this evening around 8 p.m.
