He even equaled Kylian Mbappe's record with Paris from the 2020-21 season, when the current Real Madrid superstar had scored eight goals, as many as Dembele now has (plus three assists, as many as Mbappe then!), without the European season having ended…

The pressure from Luis Enrique's team at the top particularly strained that of Mikel Arteta, who saved the second goal on a close header by Brazilian stopper Marquinhos that was blocked by David Raya, who did the same on a diagonal shot by Kvaratskhelia.

The incredible pace on both sides then fell, the fear of a goal in the passive made both teams more conservative. Dembele, due to discomfort, gave way to Bradley Barcola, with Luis Enrique freshening up his attack a little later with the entry of Portuguese forward Goncalo Ramos instead of Doue.

Arteta did not make early changes because, quite simply, his bench is essentially… empty due to the many and important absences (Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Havertz) that are plaguing his team. It is characteristic that his first move was a change of defender (Ben White instead of Jurrien Timber).

PSG had no problem not to attack particularly in the second half and made its presence felt only in the 78th minute with a shot from Joao Neves from the height of the penalty area, but reached 0-2 in the 84th minute, when, after a combination of the two players who came on as substitutes, Barcola created a goal by himself against Raya.

Manos Staramopoulos

Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs

Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com

Athens (Greece)