By Zach Lowy
Every have marked an period in soccer and staked their declare as an all-time nice, however none have been in a position to rating three targets on two consecutive events in a Rouge-et-Bleu package. That honour belongs to Ousmane Dembélé, who turned the primary participant in PSG historical past to attain back-to-back hat-tricks final Saturday.
It has been 9 years since Dembélé burst onto the scene for Rennes, shortly rising as one of many best abilities in Europe and incomes a switch to Borussia Dortmund. He excelled in Germany and was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season, while he additionally spearheaded BVB to their first trophy in 5 years with a Man of the Match efficiency within the 2017 DFB-Pokal Remaining.
This piqued the curiosity of Barcelona, who splurged a club-record €105 million plus €40 million in bonuses to signal the French winger. Dembélé, nonetheless, by no means got here near justifying Barcelona’s outlay because of persistent damage issues and irritating decision-making, earlier than departing in 2023 as one of many worst signings within the membership’s historical past. Six years after changing Neymar Jr. at Barcelona, he was now tasked with changing Neymar at PSG.
Dembélé thrived on the most important of phases, scoring in each legs vs. Barcelona to verify PSG’s spot within the UEFA Champions League semifinals and breaking the impasse in PSG’s 2-1 win vs. Lyon within the Coupe de France Remaining. And though he didn’t fairly handle to fulfil expectations, racking up 6 targets and 13 assists in 42 appearances in 2023/24, he’s been in a position to take his sport to the following stage and emerge as PSG’s attacking talisman following Kylian Mbappé’s exit to Actual Madrid.
There have been varied ramifications from Mbappé’s exit. For one, PSG have gone from concentrating their assaults across the left flank to the correct facet, the place Dembélé is principally utilised. Not reliant on one participant to bang within the targets, PSG have reworked right into a extra fluid setup that’s predicated upon aggressive urgent.
“Mbappé’s absence has allowed PSG to win the ball again faster and better up the pitch, and that’s going to learn Dembélé who might be there to pounce,” said Luke Entwistle, the editor-in-chief of Get French Soccer Information. “If he’s not profitable the ball again, then his teammates are profitable it and feeding him the ball in harmful areas.”
PSG deliberate upfront of Mbappé’s exit by signing two of Europe’s most promising younger strikers for a mixed €165m (bonuses included) in the summertime of 2023. Nevertheless, with neither Randal Kolo Muani (since loaned out to Juventus) nor Gonçalo Ramos adjusting to Luis Enrique’s in-possession calls for, the Spaniard has opted to go along with a false 9 like Marco Asensio (since loaned out to Aston Villa), Kang-in Lee, and even Dembélé.
Dembélé’s technical high quality has by no means been unsure; it’s his goal-scoring potential that’s at all times come below scrutiny. Followers have grown accustomed to seeing him eradicate a number of opponents with a physique feint earlier than blasting his shot into Row Z. For a participant who’s typically struggled with the paradox of his abundance, and who, by his personal admission, doesn’t know whether or not he’s higher on his proper foot or left, he can now preserve issues easy and pull the set off earlier than he has the possibility to overthink it. Whereas in earlier years, Dembélé would’ve needed to wriggle previous a sea of opponents and step by step make his means from the correct to the center, he’s commonly receiving in central areas, the place he can permit his poaching instincts to take over.
His mixture of velocity, shut management, and unpredictability make him a defender’s nightmare: present him outdoors, and he’ll use his 1v1 abilities to evade the fullback and speed up in direction of aim. Present him inside, and he’ll blast a ferocious shot in direction of or aim or present a teammate with a flawless go. It additionally helps that he’s formulated a deadly partnership with Achraf Hakimi down the correct flank, with the Moroccan able to bombing ahead and permitting Ousmane to invert into the half-spaces.
“Ousmane’s position adjustments relying on the sport,” mentioned The Athletic journalist Alex Barker. “He’s been used as a touchline-hugging proper winger an inside ahead, a false 9, and in midfield. If Hakimi is taking part in at proper again, Dembélé can drift in all places. If it’s Warren Zaïre-Emery, it’s extra doubtless Dembélé might be used to carry width. He has thrived extra in tight areas in central areas, utilizing his unimaginable footwork to go straight at defensive midfielders and centre backs.”
Even when Dembélé was enduring a cumbersome begin to his PSG profession, Enrique threw his assist behind the am-bipedal winger, stating: “He’s essentially the most destabilising participant on the planet.” In the present day, although, he’s brimming with confidence, and the targets are beginning to move. Aside from PSG’s match vs. Lens within the Coupe de France, Ousmane has scored in eight of his final 9 fixtures.
Previous to this season, Ousmane’s earlier career-best aim tally got here in 2018/19, when he scored 14 targets in 42 appearances for Barcelona. He’s scored 14 targets in these final 9 matches alone (19 throughout all competitions this season), and he has catapulted himself to the highest of the Ligue 1 scoring charts after a sensational run of kind.
At 27 years of age, it appears Dembélé is lastly placing two and two collectively and dwelling as much as his world-class potential. He’s nonetheless able to reducing by way of defences like butter with an impeccable go and contriving a gilt-edged alternative; in actual fact, solely Rayan Cherki (0.59) is registering extra Anticipated Assists per 90 in Ligue 1 than Dembélé (0.41). However now, he’s rising as a high-volume shooter who finds the again of the web as a rule, and with 11 targets in six matches, he has scored essentially the most targets of any participant in 2025. The one query is – is that this merely a purple patch, or the beginning of one thing new?
Quite a lot of groups have suffered Ousmane’s wrath in current months, together with AS Monaco. Ousmane scored a brace towards them on December 18 earlier than scoring a 92nd-minute winner within the Trophée des Champions on January 5, and after being rested for his or her midweek cup tie vs. Le Mans, he’ll be trying to proceed his scintillating kind vs. the principality facet.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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