Paris Saint-Germain had several disappointing players in their 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Tuesday night at the Parc des Princes. One of the players in the criticism crossfire is Ousmane Dembélé.
After scoring his first PSG goal last week in the win over AS Monaco, it was safe to assume that the 26-year-old was trending in the right direction. However, his performance against the Magpies raised some concern for CBS Sports’ Jonathan Johnson.
Jonathan Johnson: Ousmane Dembélé remains inconsistent
In his column for CaughtOffside, Johnson highlighted that Dembélé’s inconsistency has followed him to Paris after leaving FC Barcelona this past summer.
“Ousmane Dembele also continues to blow hot and cold since his move to PSG from Barcelona in the summer,” Johnson wrote. “He scored a superb goal against Monaco at the weekend and rightly earned praise from Enrique, but he manages to combine the sublime with the absolutely infuriating, and that was no different against Newcastle.”
“While there’s no doubt that Dembele provides moments of brilliance, he can also be frustrating to watch. I don’t really see Dembele becoming more of a consistent performer; it’s just not his profile, but of course, if he could learn to not over-do things and take the simpler option, it might improve his consistency levels.”
The former Barcelona winger had six total shots, with two on target. Furthermore, the Frenchman had three key passes with an expected goals of 1.17. Dembélé, like most of the team, couldn’t find the back of the net.
Dembélé won’t play on the road in a must-win match against Borussia Dortmund. As a result, his teammates will need to replace his creativity if they want to advance to the knockout stages.
