Luis Enrique defends decision to haul off top player at half time of Rennes draw | OneFootball

Luis Enrique raised some eyebrows last night when he took Ousmane Dembele off at half time of PSG’s draw with Rennes.

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PSG came back from 2-0 down in the second half against Rennes last night to draw 2-2 in their opening game of the Ligue 1 season.

After the game, manager Luis Enrique was asked about the most eye-catching decision he made – hauling off star man Ousmane Dembele at half time to bring on Ferran Torres, who scored twice after the break.

“That’s how football is. PSG hasn’t won anything yet this season. If you dwell on what you’ve already won in the past, you won’t win anything else. To me, the most important thing is that there’s no gifts,” the Asturian coach said.

“You have to prove every day, in every training session, every match, that you’re ready; otherwise, it’s easy to get complacent, right? We aim to win all the time, and to win all the time, and you have to step out of your comfort zone for that, that’s clear.”

Enrique takes tough decisions he’s paid to make

Ousmane Dembele playing for PSG. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

It was a ballsy move, but that’s just the sort of decision that the ownership have appointed and empowered their manager to make.

It wasn’t just the removal of Dembele that made a difference, but nobody (not even the attacker himself) can complain given the second half improvement and given Torres’ double. These are the standards Lucho sets, and that’s why this team are so good.

In other news…

PSG drew 2-2 with Rennes last night in an exciting conclusion to the Ligue 1 weekend.

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