Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique will hope to count on striker Ousmane Dembele for Sunday's World Cup final against Chelsea, after a stunning 4-0 that hit Real Madrid in the penultimate phase of the tournament.
The Ballon d'Orkoploper rested the entire group stage after running a thigh injury and was limited to replacement performances in earlier knockout rounds, giving him his first start of the tournament against the LaLiga Titans on Wednesday.
He made an immediate impact and helped Fabian Ruiz in the opening goal in the sixth minute before he was sent in East Rutherford, New Jersey three minutes later in the net at the Metlife Stadium.
Luis Enrique previously told reporters that he believed that Dembele earned the balloon d'or, and on Wednesday there was no doubt that the Frenchman had again worth the highest individual honor of football.
“I would like to emphasize that this is the first game that I had my best player, Dembele, at his best,” he said reporters. “We had seen him very little during this tournament. This is a crucial player, a unique player, a player who wants to see every fan … Hopefully we can have him for the final.”
The trophy on Sunday against Chelsea would be a shimmering end of a great season, while Luis Enrique sent the team to the Continental Treble, with a 5-0 defeat of Inter in the Champions League final in his second year with the team.
“We are one game away to not only write history, but to build the history of Paris, from a French club that can get every cup, every tournament,” Luis Enrique said reporters. “This is very important to us, for our fans.”