Dembélé stuns Luis Enrique with brace of goals and assists against Bratislava

Ousmane Dembélé delivered a stellar performance on Wednesday evening in the Champions League, scoring two goals and providing two assists during PSG’s crushing victory against Slovan Bratislava (6-1). So much so that he surprised Luis Enrique himself, despite the Spanish coach seeing the French international daily.

PSG had approached this European return in a delicate context: three Ligue 1 matches without a single victory, including a home defeat to Monaco (1-2) the previous Friday. Against the double defending champions, the Parisians showed a completely different face, led by Dembélé and Ferran Torres, who scored a hat-trick.

“We did very good work, we played very well,” Luis Enrique said after the match. “Today, I think the one who surprised me the most is Ousmane Dembélé. What intensity! With and without the ball.” The Spanish coach was keen to clarify that this brilliant form owed nothing to outside intervention: “When I have this Ousmane, it’s a real pleasure and I enjoy seeing him every day with this ambition.”

Dembélé had been rested during the last league outings — substituted at half-time against Rennes (2-2), then limited to twenty minutes off the bench against Monaco. Sixty minutes of play on Wednesday evening, and the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner reminded everyone why he deserves that status.

“Personally, after a somewhat difficult start where I didn’t play much, it wasn’t easy to come back. But I’m happy today, I had 60 minutes. We had to win, we had a poor start to the season. I’m also pleased with my performance. We also need to bounce back in the league,” the forward said.

Dembélé also spoke about his physical improvement after a busy summer: “We had to get back into shape because we had the World Cup and not much holiday. I’m feeling better and better. I hope to get even more minutes so I can get into rhythm against Brest, the other matches and also go on international duty to get minutes, win matches, score goals, provide assists. That’s everything I love about football.” PSG travel to Brest on Sunday as they look to revive their Ligue 1 season.