When he stepped as much as take his penalty throughout the shootout at Anfield, Ousmane Dembele supplied a glimpse of the multidimensional risk he carries always — even in the most hostile circumstances. The Champions League round-of-16 tie towards Liverpool had entered its climax, the anxiousness was at breaking level, nevertheless it appeared to make no distinction to Dembele.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker formed as if he have been about to kick his penalty left-footed, then shuffled round to smash it in right-footed. Even if Alisson — close to impenetrable over two legs — hadn’t purchased Dembele’s bluff, he would have needed to make investments some vitality in contemplating it. For, the Frenchman is a uncommon ambipedal footballer, so sturdy with each toes that an previous video of a dumbfounded journalist asking Dembele which foot he most well-liked stays a preferred meme.
On the quick monitor
It was Dembele’s astonishing talent and trickery with each toes that made him Barcelona’s costliest signing for an eye-watering €105 million (plus 40 million in add-ons) in 2017. His time as a youngster at Rennes and Borussia Dortmund had many in the soccer world — scouts, information analysts, sporting administrators, coaches and gamers — satisfied that he was on monitor to turning into one in all the sport’s greatest. The transfer to Barcelona as a 20-year-old, to exchange Neymar and play alongside Lionel Messi, appeared the defining step in his inevitable ascension to greatness.
But the hero arc didn’t fairly play out in the method many anticipated it to. Dembele’s time at Camp Nou was a mix of harm setbacks, off-field points and wasteful ending. There have been nonetheless jaw-dropping moments, trophy success, even occasional indicators that he could but realise his phenomenal potential. But a return of 40 objectives and 41 assists from 185 matches over six seasons wasn’t the elite attacking output large European golf equipment pay a premium for.
When he moved to Paris in 2023, it appeared as if Dembele would stay out the remainder of his footballer life as an excellent participant, simply not fairly a Ballon D’Or contender. But a narrative that has defied expectations defied that expectation, too. For, it’s at PSG this yr that Dembele seems to have assumed his last kind as the unstoppable power many foresaw a decade in the past.
After his dazzling efficiency over two legs towards Liverpool, in which the Reds defence simply couldn’t stay together with his menacing motion, mazy dribbling and inventive passing, Dembele scored in PSG’s 3-1 win over Marseille at the Parc des Princes in a gathering of the prime two in Ligue 1 earlier than the worldwide break. The purpose took the 27-year-old’s tally to 30 for PSG in all competitions this season. This features a run of 25 objectives since mid-December and 22 in 2025, greater than every other participant in Europe’s top-five leagues.
Can’t be touched: As a roaming No. 9 in central areas, Dembele is a nightmare to defend towards. He can beat his marker off both foot on both aspect. | Photo credit score: Getty Images
The key to Dembele’s emergence as a prolific scorer inside a free-flowing system on offence is his transfer from the wing to the center. In central areas as a roaming No. 9, his two-footedness makes him a nightmare to defend towards. He was one in all the world’s greatest small-space dribblers on the wing, however defenders may, in idea if not all the time in observe, use the touchline to limit his progress. That merely isn’t an choice in the centre, the place he can beat you off both foot on both aspect. Once he does that, he’s a lot nearer to purpose than he would have been beginning huge.
As Dembele stated of his swap to No. 9, “As soon as I take the best of a player [beat my marker], I find myself in front of goal. I have the lucidity to score.”
Filling an Mbappe-sized gap
A number of credit score ought to go to supervisor Luis Enrique, who got here up with the concept of Dembele as a centre-forward working seamlessly with wingers Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola. Kylian Mbappe’s choice to depart for Real Madrid final summer time opened the door for Enrique to impose his views {that a} well-oiled unit can be extra environment friendly than a squad counting on the genius of the France celebrity. An attention-grabbing fall-out of Enrique’s choice seems to be the inception of one other French celebrity.
Enrique stated he’s imposing no limits on how good Dembele can turn into as a scorer. “Back when I played PlayStation as a kid, he was the kind of player you’d choose when you needed someone to change the game,” stated Enrique. “Ousmane has all the time been a unique participant, no matter his place. He can dribble previous two or three gamers, make decisive passes and rating objectives. He was already good final season however in 2025 he’s even higher.
“Right now, he is in an absolutely spectacular phase. His statistics have exploded compared to the beginning of his career, that’s obvious. He has to be important for the team, not just scoring goals. I believe that Ousmane, very clearly, can become one of the leaders of the team.”
Interestingly, the Enrique-Dembele relationship hasn’t been all clean. A tipping level got here final November when the supervisor dropped his ahead for disciplinary causes, saying he did it for the good of the group. “When a player doesn’t meet their obligations, this is the sort of thing that can happen,” he stated. L’Equipe reported that Enrique and Dembele had verbally clashed, however the supervisor claimed there had been no argument.
Fantasy decide: PSG supervisor Luis Enrique refuses to impose limits on Dembele’s goal-scoring potential. ‘Back when I played PlayStation, he was the kind of player you’d select to alter the sport,’ says Enrique. | Photo credit score: Getty Images
Whatever the fact, the episode coincided with the begin of Dembele’s world-beating run. And at the same time as he has scored a great deal of objectives, he has not coasted defensively. Enrique calls for a excessive work-rate off the ball, one in all the “obligations” all his gamers have to satisfy. Dembele’s out-of-possession diligence and urgent depth haven’t slipped.
Living as much as his phrase
The 27-year-old has confirmed an all-action, all-angles centre-forward, harrying defenders to win possession, dropping deep to knit play, attacking from huge to alter issues up. He had made a wager together with his teammates at the begin of the season that he would hit 30 objectives, with the promise of a luxurious watch in return as an incentive. But even that doesn’t absolutely clarify his newly evident starvation to attain, maybe greatest seen in successive hat-tricks in a 4-1 away thrashing of Stuttgart in the Champions League and a 5-2 Ligue 1 demolition of Brest.
Even as he has turn into PSG’s essential man, he appears to have purchased into Enrique’s team-first imaginative and prescient. “The players, whether it’s Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue or Kvara [Kvaratskhelia], give me great service,” he stated. “The team is in a good dynamic. Everyone is focused and playing really well and that helps me to score goals if I am in the right positions.”
Another Ligue 1 title has been all however secured. If Dembele can mild up the enterprise finish of the Champions League, a career-defining season will achieve immortality.
Published – March 21, 2025 11:49 pm IST
