January 22, 2025, Parc des Princes. Manchester City lead 2-0 through Grealish and Haaland, and PSG are on the brink. Then, in 36 minutes, everything changes.
Champions League - League Phase · 2025-01-22
Paris Saint-Germain4-2Manchester City
50'J. Grealish0-1
53'E. Haaland0-2
56'O. Dembélé1-2
60'B. Barcola2-2
78'João Neves3-2
90+3'Gonçalo Ramos4-2
They were quicker, faster, they won the duels, we could not cope. The best team won.
Pep Guardiola
Post-match press conference after PSG 4-2 Man City, January 22, 2025
Full Pep Guardiola press conference after PSG 4-2 Man City
Also in January, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrives from Napoli, and the attacking trident finally finds its definitive shape. Luis Enrique repositions Dembélé as a central forward, and the transformation is spectacular.
Incredible, Dembélé as a number 9, that's the idea of the century and it all comes down to the coach.
Jean-Louis Gasset
Press conference, April 2025
4-3-3
The Luis Enrique system: 4-3-3 false 9
Knockout Phase
Brest are swept aside 10-0 over two legs in the play-offs, seven different scorers in the second leg at the Parc des Princes. Then Liverpool in the round of 16. At the Parc, PSG are utterly dominant, but Alisson racks up 9 saves, the performance of his life, and Liverpool somehow escape with a 1-0 win. In the return at Anfield, Dembélé scores in the 12th minute, and in the shootout, Donnarumma stops Núñez and Jones.
Champions League - Round of 16 (2nd leg) · 2025-03-11
Liverpool0-1Paris Saint-Germain
12'O. Dembélé0-1
Penalties: 1 - 4
PSG vs Liverpool - 1st leg at Parc des Princes
0
PSG shots
Liverpool: 2
0
PSG possession
0
Alisson saves
It was the best game of football I was ever involved in.
Arne Slot
After Liverpool's penalty shootout elimination, Round of 16, Anfield, March 11, 2025
Aston Villa fall 5-4 on aggregate in an epic quarter-final. Then Arsenal. Dembélé strikes in the 4th minute at the Emirates, the earliest goal Arsenal had ever conceded in a Champions League knockout match. At the Parc, Fabián Ruiz and Hakimi seal it.
Champions League - Semi-final (1st leg) · 2025-04-29
Arsenal0-1Paris Saint-Germain
4'O. Dembélé0-1
Champions League - Semi-final (2nd leg) · 2025-05-07