Dembélé says PSG will send no message to Europe against City

“We are not going to send any message,” Ousmane Dembélé said ahead of the Champions League match between Manchester City and PSG. The French forward rejected the idea that the fixture should be treated as a statement to Europe: the season is still long, although the result matters to PSG.

Dembélé said he had spoken with Luis Enrique after playing for the France national team. He missed Saturday’s Ligue 1 match against Le Mans at the Parc des Princes, which PSG won 3-1, after being given a few days’ rest at his coach’s decision. He is expected to start on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium. It is the second rest Luis Enrique has given him since the start of the season.

PSG are pursuing a third consecutive Champions League title. Dembélé nevertheless said the immediate aim is to finish in the top eight. He added that the club would not rule out going through the play-offs: in each of the previous two seasons, PSG played that intermediate round after the league phase before winning the title.

Asked whether this was a good time to face City, in its first home match after being found guilty by the Premier League of 114 breaches of its financial rules, Dembélé said playing the team was “always difficult”, whether it was in good or poor form. He praised the quality of its players and its coach, Enzo Maresca.

The Frenchman will also come up against Gianluigi Donnarumma, his former PSG teammate. Dembélé described their relationship as very good and called the goalkeeper “number one” and “a truly incredible keeper”. He said he could not attend Donnarumma’s wedding this summer, but had sent him many messages. Laughing, he added that their duel had begun with the France national team, when Donnarumma saved one of his chances.