Luis Enrique stresses importance of PSG squad as Dembele gets time to rest
Soccer Football – Trophee des Champions – Paris St Germain Press Conference – Campus Paris St Germain, Poissy, France – August 15, 2026 Paris Saint Germain coach Luis Enrique during the press conference REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
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Aug 27 : Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique will continue his squad rotation as the capital club again seek to dominate domestically and in Europe, with players who featured at the World Cup such as France’s Ousmane Dembele given plenty of opportunity to rest.
PSG retained the Champions League and Ligue 1 title last season, with Luis Enrique fielding very different lineups in each competition.
The likes of Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi featured heavily in Europe but were used more sparingly in the French league.
Ballon d’Or winner Dembele reached the World Cup semi-final with France and took little part in PSG’s pre-season preparations but played in their UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa and French Super Cup loss to Lens.
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“There is nothing new here,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Thursday. “Last year, and in previous years, we have had players given recovery time. Dembele made a big effort to be involved in the two Super Cup finals, he will be an essential player for us.
“It’s important to underline that the players who came back with less rest time because they played at the World Cup, I’m always open to giving them rest time. It’s very important to know how to switch off.”
Dembele started PSG’s opening league game against Stade Rennais but was replaced at halftime by new signing Ferran Torres. PSG were 2-0 down at the time, and Torres netted twice as the champions rescued a draw.
Ahead of Friday’s game at Lille, their Spanish manager was asked whether World Cup winner Torres can prove himself worthy of a starting place.
“Of course you like to classify players, this one is a starter, or a bench player,” Luis Enrique replied.
“To win trophies in the way that we have done, you need a squad. You don’t win anything with just 11 players. I need 23 players, not just 11.”
“We have won a lot because we had players like Goncalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and many others who came into the team. Bradley Barcola too.”
Ramos and Lee have moved on and Barcola looks set to join Liverpool although, for now, “he is still a PSG player”.
The draw for the league phase of the Champions League takes place later on Thursday but the PSG manager will not tune in.
“The first year, I watched it in my office. The second and third year too and all three times it was catastrophic in terms of getting the toughest draw,” he said.
“So now, I am going to cycle around Paris. When I get home, everyone will tell me how the draw has gone.”
Source: Reuters
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