On Wednesday, in the second leg of the 2025-2026 Champions League playoff (2-3 in the first leg), Paris Saint-Germain will face AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 pm, CET). On the eve of this match, PSG midfielder/striker Désiré Doué (20 years old) answered several questions at a press conference.
Doué: “We’re moving forward together for tomorrow’s match.”
Is the real Désiré Doué back?
I’ve always been myself; there’s no “real” or “fake” about me. I always try to help in any way I can. I don’t think about my goals or assists; I try to contribute in different ways.
How do you explain your return to form, and what can you still improve?
It’s solely down to hard work and discipline. That’s the only way to find the back of the net and regain confidence. I’m very well supported at PSG, and I work hard every day.
How did you react to Dembélé’s comments in Rennes?
In my opinion, leaders have the right to speak up and should do so at certain times. There’s frustration after a defeat, that’s understandable. We’re honest with each other, and we’re moving forward together for tomorrow’s match.
Doué “It’s also through hard work that you build character and the will to win.”
You love hard work, where does that come from?
I’ve always been a hard worker, even though I was considered talented. But the most important thing is hard work, which allows you to bounce back better after a defeat or a victory. It’s also through hard work that you build character and the will to win.
Did you feel targeted by Dembélé?
I didn’t feel targeted (smiles).
Internal discussions to rediscover beautiful play and collective effort?
Of course, that’s part of the work with the staff and the coach. We do a lot of video analysis to improve. We’ve won everything, we still have big goals. That involves questioning ourselves. We have to work and question ourselves to improve.
Doué “I’m very confident and ready for tomorrow’s match.”
Why the celebration with your ears plugged?
There are many things in football; the celebration was personal. I’m focused on the game and trying to tune out the noise. A lot of people are helping me. I feel good, I’m very confident, and ready for tomorrow’s match.
What’s your mindset going into the second leg? Any apprehension?
We really want to advance to the next round. We’re approaching it in the best possible way. As always, the goal is to win the competition. We really want to bring the trophy back to Paris. We’re going to give it our all.
What kind of match is it tomorrow, and what will be the key ingredients?
Monaco is a very good team, with very good players. We’ll have to be at 100%, as always in the Champions League. Anything can happen in football. We’ll have to be at our best from start to finish.
Doué “We mainly took the positives from this match and our ability to come back.”
What lessons did you learn from the first leg?
We mainly took the positives from this match and our ability to come back from 2-0 down away from home. It’s never easy, especially in the Champions League. We showed a very good mentality, and we need to do that again tomorrow to win. It will be very important.
You’ve been more efficient lately, have you been working on that?
Yes, of course, I work on it every day. I have to keep improving it, like others.
Every time you score, does PSG win? Is it even more important to be clinical?
It’s a great statistic, I saw it recently. It’s nice, but it’s important to point out that when I don’t score, the team also wins very often. But I have to keep performing, keep scoring. If possible, improve that statistic even more. That would be great.
