Paris Saint-Germain are thriving without Kylian Mbappé, and Luis Enrique isn’t shy about saying it. Ahead of their crucial Ligue 1 clash with AS Monaco on Friday, the PSG boss doubled down on his belief that the team is better both offensively and defensively since the superstar’s departure to Real Madrid last summer.
“I was very brave last season when I told you we would be better,” Enrique said ahead of the game. “The numbers are there to prove it. The team has responded at a spectacular level.”
It’s a bold claim, given Mbappé’s staggering record of over 170 Ligue 1 goals in seven years with PSG. But PSG remain unbeaten after 20 games, the only team across Europe’s top five leagues to do so, and they sit comfortably atop the table, 10 points clear of Marseille and 13 ahead of Monaco.
At the heart of this new-look PSG is Ousmane Dembélé, a player Luis Enrique now sees as a potential leader. The 27-year-old has been in scintillating form, scoring twice against Monaco in December and netting a last-minute winner in the French Super Cup against the same opponents last month.
His transformation is exactly what Enrique envisioned when he insisted PSG would be better as a collective rather than relying on a single 40-goal striker.
“Right now, he is in an absolutely spectacular series,” Enrique said of Dembélé. “His statistics have exploded compared to the start of his career. But being a leader is about more than scoring goals. It’s about assists, defensive work, being a presence on the pitch. And I believe Ousmane can become one of the leaders of this team.”
While PSG look unstoppable, the clash against Monaco is no easy test. The eight-time champions have made significant improvements, particularly in their defensive intensity. Enrique acknowledged the challenge ahead, pointing to their strong structure and pressing game as potential problems for PSG.
“Monaco have made a lot of progress without the ball,” he noted. “They are a well-constructed team that occupies the pitch well. They can cause a lot of trouble, as we’ve seen in our last two meetings. They’re a direct competitor, and it will be another difficult match.”
PSG have already beaten Monaco twice this season, but with their sights set on an unbeaten domestic campaign, this game is another crucial step in proving Enrique’s vision right.
