In total this season, Marco Asensio has started around 10 of a possible 22 games. Under the management of Luis Enrique, the Balearic player has seen his opportunities reduced since the end of November. Since November 26, Asensio has accumulated only 18 minutes on the pitch, divided between the match against Bayern (7 minutes) and that against Auxerre (11 minutes). He did not participate in the Coupe de France match against Lens. The Asturian coach preferred other offensive options, making it clear that the ex-Real Madrid player is not a priority in his plans. The return of Gonçalo Ramos after his injury further complicated the situation for the Mallorca-born player, who was playing as a false nine. Despite this, his start to the season was exquisite. The striker took advantage of the absence of Gonçalo Ramos to shine with goals and assists against Montpellier, Lille and Brest. He scored another goal in mid-October and stood out against Angers in early November, providing two assists in a 0-4 victory. However, these performances were not enough to secure him a place in Luis Enrique’s plans, despite playing a total of 748 minutes. The situation reached a critical point during the sixth round of the Champions League. PSG arrived in a tricky situation with just four points after three defeats, a draw and a victory in the first round. Against RB Salzburg, Luis Enrique completely omitted Marco Asensio, who played no minutes and didn’t even do a warm-up during the match. The coach opted for Warren Zaire-Emery and the young Doué, who particularly stood out with an assist and a goal, which seems to push Asensio even further away from the starting lineup. In addition, the Parisians’ 0-3 victory perhaps gave Asensio an opportunity in the final moments of the match. But Marco Asensio is not the only one to have had disagreements with the Asturian. There is also tension between Luis Enrique and Ousmane Dembélé at PSG. The coach declared at a press conference that he is neither ‘a father, a brother, nor a friend’ to the player, but simply his coach. The ex-Barça player responded after scoring a goal against Lyon, reiterating the coach’s words and emphasizing that they maintain a professional player-coach relationship. The situation was previously complicated when Dembélé was left out of a squad against Arsenal due to indiscipline and was subsequently sent off in a match against Bayern. The French player had not started since November 26 but returned to the starting XI, scoring an early goal against Lyon. Despite the tensions, Ousmane expressed that the common goal is to elevate PSG and win titles. Against Monaco, the striker was the one who handed the French Super Cup trophy to the Parisians after scoring as the final whistle approached.
Belgium
