“He plays like an autistic” – Jorge Sampaoli on Ousmane Dembélé’s playing style | OneFootball

In an interview with SoFoot, former Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli commented on the playing style of Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé (26).

The PSG attacker has been a divisive figure since he made the switch from Barcelona back to Ligue 1. Dembélé is often very effective in the final third for Les Parisiens but struggled to find the back of the net for the club last term – only scoring 3 goals in Ligue 1. However, for the Ligue 1 champions last season, he assumed the role of chief creator – registering 14 assists across all competitions.

Dembélé was also a decisive factor for Les Bleus at EURO 2024. More often than not, the former Barcelona attacker had to settle for a place on the bench with Deschamps preferring other options. However, against Portugal, the 26-year-old won man of the match after coming off the bench in the quarter-finals. This also earned Dembélé a start in the semi-finals against Spain where France were knocked out.

Talking about the playing style of the PSG forward, former OM manager Sampaoli said, “Dembélé plays like an autistic. He starts the action and finishes it alone. He doesn’t have the ability to make a team-mate shine, he only knows how to shine himself. Mbappé is a bit like that.”

GFFN | Liam Wraith