While their relationship had deteriorated in recent weeks, Luis Enrique and Ousmane Dembélé decided to ease tensions.
In addition to the great victory against Olympique Lyonnais (3-1) last Sunday, this meeting helped ease tensions between the coach of PSG,
Luis Enriqueand the French international,
Ousmane Dembélé. “Everyone took a step towards the other and we could talk about reconciliation as the gap had widened”reports The Team
in today’s edition. Because for several weeks, the two men had been going through a period of turbulence. After the expulsion of the attacker against the Bayern Munich (1-0 defeat), the Spanish technician did not hesitate to talk about
“serious error”believing that this gesture had undermined his team’s chances of bringing back a good result from the trip to Munich. Subsequently, the Parisian number 10 started on the bench the matches against the FC Nantes (1-1) et the AJ Auxerre (0-0).
“His two entries into play, between the transparent and the catastrophic, could be compared to a message sent to his coach, who at the same time noted how much this Paris needs a player of his ilk who is fully involved. »
Without ever having explained, the two men had entered into a strange game. Luis Enrique hadn’t bothered to justify himself to his player, which everyone took for punishment. “In training, far from his firm speech to the media, he continued to take ‘Ous’ by the shoulder, all smiles, or to challenge him. But his choices spoke for him, like the body language of
Dembele’s. Both seemed to have engaged in a duel in velvet gloves, at a pivotal period of the season. A battle between unsaid words and resentments from which there was a risk that no one would emerge victorious”explains the sports daily. But the meeting on Sunday evening played a big role in the path to reconciliation between Luis Enrique et
Ousmane Dembélé. The 2018 World Champion has found a starting place in an unusual axial position, an area that the main player particularly appreciates, allowing him to have better freedom than on the right side. And from the first minutes, number 10 of
PSG showed himself invested and impactful and was rewarded with a goal in the 8th minute of play.
After the meeting, the former Rennais made things clear about his relationship with his coach: “Like he said, we’re not brothers, he’s not my dad, we’re not ‘bro’. It’s a coach-player relationship, I’ve known him for a long time. We try to do everything so that the PSG grow up, win titles, play well. » This Tuesday at a press conference, Luis Enrique returned to this subject:
“I always defended him, as a player and as a person. From there, I want him to give the best version of himself. » The two men wanted to close this episode in order to move forward in the common interest of the club, which will not be trivial for the rest of the season. Indeed,
Ousmane Dembélé is a popular and jovial personality in the locker room and the coach is aware of this. The Spanish technician loves the Frenchman’s profile “but he wants to keep under his control – and in his tactical straightjacket – a player capable of sulks when things don’t go the way he wants. »
