Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Ousmane Dembele joked about taking another vacation after he helped Paris Saint-Germain dismantle Manchester City in the Champions League.
Dembele was given some time off by PSG boss Luis Enrique last week, meaning he missed a 3-1 win over Le Mans in Ligue 1.
But the Ballon d’Or winner returned to the fold against Man City on Wednesday, and he went on to score and assist in a 4-2 victory for the two-time European champions.
Desire Doue opened the scoring in the 13th minute, before crossing in for Dembele to head home PSG’s second just 99 seconds later.
Vitinha put PSG 3-0 in the 32nd minute, though City threatened a second-half comeback. Erling Haaland scored twice, either side of Gianluigi Donnarumma gifting the visitors a fourth, which ultimately proved enough to get the job done, despite Ferran Torres missing a late penalty.
PSG have already scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season – no side has ever scored more in the first two matches of a campaign in the competition – and Dembele had a laugh at the expense of their critics.
“We don’t care at all that people doubted us,” Dembele told Canal+.
“It’s October, it’s the second Champions League match, and we’re staying focused. We know that in the first part of the season, we have to be on track and then prepare for the second half of the season.
“Did I want to set the record straight? Not at all, there was the international break and then I went on vacation.
“Besides, I might ask for another vacation! I’ve been criticised for 10 years, so that’s not going to change, is it?”
10 – PSG are now unbeaten in each of their last 10 UEFA Champions League matches against English opponents (W8 D2). Conquering. https://t.co/oucYZj0Fft
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 14, 2026
Dembele assisted PSG’s fourth goal, with Maghnes Akliouche benefiting from Donnarumma’s blunder.
The France forward has now been directly involved in 33 goals in 42 Champions League games for PSG (20 goals, 11 assists).
Only Kylian Mbappe (65 in 64 games) and Neymar (37 in 41) have recorded more goal involvements for PSG in the competition, with Dembele now level with Edinson Cavani (33 in 54).
PSG are unbeaten in 10 Champions League matches against English opponents (W8 D2), scoring 26 goals while conceding just 10 in this run.
But Luis Enrique suggested his team were fortunate.
“I love our attitude, our commitment,” he told TNT Sports. “We try to win every match, we don’t stop at one or two goals.
“We try to continue scoring and continue playing the same way. It’s nice to feel that.
“We were lucky, because in the second half we could have conceded four goals.”
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