Ousmane Dembélé, forward for Paris Saint-Germain, faced another setback in his challenging season when he departed the pitch due to an apparent injury during the first half of the Champions League playoff against Monaco on Tuesday.
Substitute Désiré Doué made a significant impact, scoring twice and assisting on another goal as PSG came back to lead 3-2 ahead of the return leg in Paris next Wednesday.
Prior to the match, Dembélé was already a doubt due to a calf issue and had to exit the game in the 26th minute at Stade Louis II. The Ballon d’Or winner has faced persistent injury troubles this season, with TV footage showing him rubbing his left calf shortly before leaving the pitch.
Coach Luis Enrique stated that Dembélé was fit to play, insisting, “We assess the condition of each player. There was no risk; he trained normally. We need to see if he sustained an injury. He took a hit early in the match and then couldn’t continue.” At the time of Dembélé’s substitution, PSG was behind 2-0 but managed to level the score at 2-2 by halftime.
This season has seen Dembélé endure multiple injuries, including an early-season setback while playing for France and a similar incident against Bayern Munich in November. He also struggled with injuries during his tenure at Barcelona.
Doué quickly turned the tide for PSG, scoring just two minutes after Dembélé’s departure with a low shot into the bottom right corner, celebrating by cupping his hands over his ears, as if to silence critics of his performance. “The coach makes the choices, and it’s a collective effort to win or lose,” Doué remarked. “The important thing is securing victory in such key matches.”
Before the match, Luis Enrique had expressed his disappointment with some star players for dropping out of the top position in Ligue 1 after a loss to Rennes.
Doué played a crucial role in PSG’s equalizer just before halftime, with his shot being deflected by goalkeeper Philipp Köhn. The rebound fell to right back Achraf Hakimi, who scored with a low shot into the bottom left corner.
Doué added his second goal in the 67th minute, finding the net after receiving a pass from Warren Zaïre-Emery on the edge of the penalty area and calmly guiding a low shot into the right corner.
Köhn had previously stopped a penalty from Vitinha in the 22nd minute, while Monaco’s Aleksandr Golovin received a red card for a reckless foul on Vitinha early in the first half.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.