Paris Saint-Germain’s chances of beating Arsenal and reaching the Champions League final may depend to a large extent on Ousmane Dembele rediscovering the form in front of goal that made him Europe’s most lethal finisher in the first three months of this year.
Dembele scored 25 goals in 20 games in all competitions for PSG between mid-December and mid-March, his statistics of a player completely transformed as he was turned by coach Luis Enrique from a winger into a central striker.
That included a crucial goal against Liverpool at Anfield on the way to PSG winning their Champions League last-16 tie on penalties.
However, a few days later the 27-year-old went away on international duty with France and since his return Dembele has lost some of his clinical edge.
The former Barcelona star, previously a thrilling winger but an often wayward finisher, has found the net just twice in his last seven outings at club level.
Both of those goals came in a French Cup semifinal victory against second-tier Dunkerque in early April.
Dembele was not on target in either leg of the Champions League quarterfinal victory against Aston Villa, a tie in which PSG found themselves hanging on grimly to their advantage at the end.
He also failed to add to his Ligue 1 leading goals tally of 21 in the French champions’ 3-1 home loss against Nice on Friday, despite seven shots over the course of the evening.
His recent record has coincided with PSG losing a little of the magic which made them arguably the best team in Europe in the early spring – they have won just once in their last four matches.
Nevertheless, Luis Enrique has insisted he is not worried about Dembele’s diminishing statistics in recent games, and recently waved away suggestions that his star man is frustrated at the goals drying up.
“Sometimes you imagine things,” he said in response to a question on the subject following a 1-1 draw in Nantes last week, when Dembele did appear a little vexed on being replaced in the second half.
“Everyone deals with their emotions how they want and how they can. I just want to lead the players towards our objective. We are going into our remaining matches full of hope.”
