Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to secure a 3-1 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday, with Ousmane Dembélé playing a decisive role in the champions’ late comeback.
The French champions struggled to find their rhythm in the first half after Luis Enrique rested several key players following their impressive 4-2 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Strasbourg capitalised on PSG’s slow start to take the lead through American forward Giovanni Reyna in the 17th minute.
Reyna collected a pass from Gessime Yassine before firing past PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov at the near post.
His effort took a slight deflection off Lucas Hernandez on its way into the net.
PSG attempted to respond, with Ferran Torres coming close to an equaliser, but Strasbourg goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen produced an excellent save to keep out his header.
The hosts also threatened to extend their advantage, forcing Safonov into several important saves to deny Conrad Harder and Karim Coulibaly.
With his team struggling to break down Strasbourg, Luis Enrique introduced several first-team regulars, including Dembélé and Achraf Hakimi, shortly after the hour mark.
The substitutions eventually transformed the contest, although Dembélé initially endured a frustrating moment when he missed a penalty in the 72nd minute.
PSG had been awarded the spot-kick after Désiré Doué’s goal-bound effort struck the hand of Pape Diop, but Dembélé sent his attempt wide of the target.
The winger quickly recovered from the disappointment, however, setting up PSG’s equaliser six minutes later.
Dembélé delivered a dangerous cross towards the far post, where Illia Zabarnyi arrived to turn the ball into the net and bring the visitors back into the contest.
PSG continued to push for a winner and completed the turnaround in the 85th minute.
Hakimi’s cross was only partially cleared by Strasbourg, allowing Dembélé to collect the loose ball, shift it onto his left foot and squeeze his shot past Jorgensen.
The visitors sealed the victory in the third minute of stoppage time when Doué finished into an empty net after being set up by Ferran Torres.
The result extended PSG’s scoring run in away Ligue 1 matches to 14 consecutive games.
The reigning champions also moved level on points with Monaco at the top of the standings, although Monaco still had their match against Lorient to play on Sunday.
Dembélé leads PSG’s second-half revival
Dembélé’s introduction proved crucial to PSG’s comeback, as the forward responded positively to his penalty miss by contributing a goal and an assist.
He finished the match with four shots and eight touches inside the opposition penalty area, underlining his influence after coming off the bench.
Doué also made a significant contribution after his introduction, registering two shots on target before adding PSG’s third goal late in the contest.
Despite the victory, Luis Enrique will expect a more convincing performance from his team when they return to Champions League action against Barcelona next week.
PSG finished with an expected goals figure of 2.61 from 18 attempts, compared with Strasbourg’s 0.97 from 16 shots, reflecting the visitors’ attacking threat despite their difficult start.
The comeback demonstrated PSG’s depth and attacking quality, but their slow first-half performance will remain an area for improvement ahead of their European assignment.
