PARIS – It’s taken a while, but one of Paris Saint-Germain’s big summer signings has kicked off after a much-needed week of positivity against Red Bull Salzburg in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, continuing against Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 on Sunday . Desire Doue has not had the easiest of starts in the French capital since arriving from Stade Rennais in August, but the 19-year-old has finally hit the right track in the past week with three important goals that have boosted his confidence. .
After playing with Les Bleus on home soil at the 2024 Olympics and moving to the Parc des Princes on that momentum, a single assist in a 3-1 away win at Lille OSC was all that the Angers native talent to show. for his Paris period so far. Doue started the week as a substitute in the must-win UCL tie against Salzburg, coming on for the final 24 minutes and beating Nuno Mendes to make it 2-0 before completing the scoring himself at 3-0 after assisted by Achraf Hakimi.
Thanks to that positive cameo performance, Luis Enrique put the Frenchman in his staring XI at home to Lyon in Sunday’s big Championnat box office match, needing just eight minutes to set up Ousmane Dembele to open the scoring. Denied what could have been a sumptuous finish into the top corner in the second half by an offside flag, Doué is finally riding in Paris four months after his big move, when Bayern Munich had also been lovers in the summer.
“I wouldn’t say it was my night, but more than anything it was the team’s night,” he said after the match after being named man of the match. “We are staying in shape in a very good way. We managed to win the last Champions League match, which was very important. We were able to create a lot of chances, but also defend well, even when we conceded a goal. We applied pressure. We were very good and followed the tactics that the boss had set out. We put pressure on them and made it difficult for ourselves.”
Luis Enrique made a few major personnel visits prior to OL’s visit, with Randal Kolo Muani, Milan Skriniar and Presnel Kimpembe being completely left out and Doue was one of the players who benefited most from Kolo Muani’s omission. Even more surprising, Goncalo Ramos and former Lyon star Bradley Barcola were left on the bench, giving the ex-Rennes man the chance to give the home fans of Les Parisiens a glimpse of what he is capable of when given the chance gets.
Now that that’s happened, a real discussion can be had about how PSG will line up in the future, with Dembele, Barcola, Ramos and now Doue capable of getting in front of goal far more than the French giants have so far have shown for almost the entire season. . With AS Monaco coming to the Stade Louis II this week before the Coupé de France is put to the test at RC Lens, this is a challenging period for Luis Enrique to deal with, but Doue offers him another solution that even seemed to be the case. just one week ago.
A goal and a few assists are unlikely to earn the PSG number 14 an automatic starting spot, but it does put him in the mix for increased involvement ahead of a crucial series of games away from Monaco and Lens in the coming week. Les Monegasques – again – in the Trophee des Champions in Qatar, AS Saint-Etienne in Paris and RCL on the road return for a massive Champions League visit from struggling Manchester City in a series that could define this campaign in the capital .
Until last week it didn’t seem likely that Doue would play a major role in that, but he is now very much part of the discussion and it is now up to him to increase that even further by continuing his current form this winter. Given the expenditure PSG made to land him a few months ago, it’s time Luis Enrique gets something in return, at a time when the Spaniard is being criticized for rarely giving Kolo Muani a look despite his high price . label.