Golden reflections in the eye of a European champion. This new blockbuster is the work of PSG, with the main actor, Ousmane Dembélé, Ballon d’or 2025 and already Ballon d’or 2026 for the best goal of the year. As of January 16, we are not taking any risks. But the attackers will have to redouble their imagination to surpass his second goal, an ocean of poetry rising from the ground of the Parc des Princes and erected into a master canvas.
The 2018 world champion continues to invent goals and gestures, unique to him and that no one can imitate. At the hour mark, against Lille, he seemed twice lost in front of goal with his feints and hooks, before releasing a legendary lob to give his team two goals in advance. He stopped twice but he suspended time, brought back to the grace of a moment. He had the Golden Ball, we should now give him the Nobel in chemistry, engineering, mechanics – hearts and feelings, of course.
With this Ousmane, PSG can dream of becoming French champions for the 14th time in 2026, even though they were one unit late at the start of this 18th day against Lens, which hosts Auxerre this Saturday. He can also imagine himself being more comfortable during his trip to the Champions League on Tuesday to face Sporting. The golden reflections were enough to dazzle the Mastiffs but Paris will not once again avoid the introspection of a game that is sometimes upside down, skating in the void.
Barcola finally scores again
We would have liked to turn into a little mouse to watch half-time in the PSG locker room. Considering the endless tactical discussion between Luis Enrique and his main deputy, Rafa Pol, visibly looking for the right defensive adjustments, previously taking into account the mad rush of the Asturian technician to reframe Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (replaced in the 62nd by Bradley Barcola), too far from Tiago Santos, in a fit of annoyance close to fury, the break must have proved volcanic.
In any case, it will lead to a change, the entry of Illia Zabarnyi in place of Senny Mayulu, the Ukrainian turning right back as the sports management had explained to him when recruiting him when Warren Zaire-Emery found his always ecosystem, the midfielder, to bring density to the duels.
This is because one weakness per line can weigh down a team. The bad choices in front of Désiré Doué, still not back from vacation, the flatness of the initiatives in the midfield of Mayulu, looking for a new lease of life, and the difficulties of Willian Pacho behind in front of Olivier Giroud, unusual for the Ecuadorian but frequent against athletically imposing attackers, did not confirm the biting intentions initially shown by PSG. He was hungry to take a bite out of a match after his hiccup against Paris FC in the Coupe de France but he went about it with false teeth, the type of pranks and tricks that don’t scare anyone.
Beyond the wonders of Ousmane Dembélé and the twilight goal of Bardley Barcola (finally!), the first period ended with the thrills of Lille with an infernal punch from Ethan Mbappé, in the classic role of the former member of the house in search of brilliance, and the amounts touched by Olivier Giroud, first the entry bar (2nd) then the post (with the right foot!) twenty minutes later, in a match that the world champion had marked to shine and remind us of his still very high level. But it was his former partner in the conquest of Russia in 2018 who stole the lights to shine his own star.
