Again, Dembélé Voted Ligue 1 Player Of The Year

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé has won Ligue 1’s player of the season award for the second straight year.

Dembélé is the 10th PSG player to claim the award. Kylian Mbappé won five in a row before joining Real Madrid.

Alexandre Lacazette was the last non-PSG player to win it when playing for Lyon in 2015.

Dembélé was selected ahead of two PSG teammates: left back Nuno Mendes and tireless central midfielder Vitinha, who spent more than twice as long as Dembélé on the field.

Lens winger Florian Thauvin and Marseille forward Mason Greenwood were the other two candidates.

Dembélé starred in PSG’s league title win last season with 21 goals — level with Greenwood — and went on to win the Ballon d’Or, but made less of an impact this time mainly because of nagging injuries in the first half of the season.

But he still managed 10 goals and five assists in 20 league appearances overall as coach Luis Enrique used him and captain Marquinhos more sparingly in Ligue 1.

Dembélé played 959 minutes in total compared to 2,369 for Thauvin, who finished with the same number of goals, assists and penalties (two) and 2,008 for Vitinha.

His performances have arguably been more impactful in the Champions League. PSG is aiming for a second straight title after beating Bayern Munich in the semifinals, with Dembélé’s early goal in the return leg earning PSG a 1-1 draw and putting it through 6-5 on aggregate.

PSG teammate Désiré Doué was voted the league’s best young player for the second straight season. The 20-year-old forward’s winning goal against Brest on Sunday put PSG on the verge of a record-extending 14th league title.

PSG is six points ahead of second-placed Lens with two games left and with a vastly superior goal difference. PSG only needs a draw at Lens on Wednesday in their rescheduled match to clinch the title.

Pierre Sage won the best coach award for turning Lens into a surprise title contender in his first season in charge, and with far fewer resources than cash-rich PSG.