Paris Saint-Germain left Strasbourg with three points and a familiar concern still hanging in the air: the penalty spot. The 3-1 Ligue 1 win on matchday seven brought another missed attempt, this time from Ousmane Dembélé, despite an influential cameo from the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner.
Dembélé sent his effort wide in Alsace, extending a difficult sequence for Luis Enrique’s side. Désiré Doué had previously failed from the spot against Le Mans last Saturday, while Ferran Torres was denied by Manchester City in midweek. The first two penalties were saved; Dembélé did not hit the target.
Paris have converted only one penalty this season and missed their last three. The wider record is more troubling: excluding shoot-outs, the reigning two-time European champions have failed with nine of their previous 19 penalties in competitive matches.
Luis Enrique admitted that his squad lacks a designated specialist, even if it contains several accomplished takers. “It is a statistic that is difficult to assess,” the coach said after the Strasbourg match. “Whenever we have played in a final, we have had good penalty takers. We have many players capable of taking them, but it is true that we are missing a specialist.”
Vitinha and Dembélé remain among the players available for the responsibility, but PSG’s open-play penalty problems stand in sharp contrast to their form in shoot-outs. Luis Enrique’s team have won each of their last five, including the shoot-out against Arsenal in the 2025-26 Champions League final.
Dembélé makes his mark despite miss
The missed penalty did not prevent Dembélé from changing the course of the evening after coming on. In 25 minutes, he scored once, created another goal and played the pass before the assist for a further strike.
His manager said the forward’s frustration was centred on the penalty rather than his overall contribution. “I told him that if he plays 25 minutes, gives an assist and scores, he does not need to play any longer. That is enough,” Luis Enrique said. “He was angry because he missed the penalty.”
Luis Enrique also stressed that neither Dembélé nor any other player can sustain their highest level throughout an entire campaign. “They are not machines,” he said. “There are matches and periods during a season when you are not at your best, and that is normal.”
Even so, the Spanish coach described Dembélé as a player apart, and pointed to his education at Barcelona as a key part of his tactical understanding. Luis Enrique said the forward knows when to hold the width and when to move inside, qualities he considers essential to PSG’s game.
“He has been through the best football school at Barcelona,” Luis Enrique said. “He already knows everything. A player coming from Barcelona understands perfectly what I like in football. Understanding the game is fundamental for us, and it makes such a difference when players already have that experience.”
