Two matches on the bench were enough to reignite the debate surrounding Désiré Doué (21). Yet, Le Parisien pointed out this week that, having started the first five games, the Frenchman remains Paris Saint-Germain’s most-used forward. Ferran Torres is shining while Doué plays less—but was it really right to jump so quickly to conclusions about a new pecking order?
Two matches, and the pecking order is already set
Football loves hierarchies. A number one, a number two, a starter, a substitute, and—if possible—a winner before the debate even ends. It’s convenient, easy to follow, and perfect for filling two hours of podcast airtime. The trouble is, Luis Enrique’s (56) PSG seems to take a perverse pleasure in complicating the picture.
Désiré Doué started the season’s first five matches. Then, he began on the bench against Bratislava and Brest. In the meantime, Ferran Torres (26) has scored six times in his new colors. The Spaniard certainly deserves all the praise coming his way for his start: he scores, moves constantly, offers different tactical options, and has immediately seized the opportunities he’s been given.
Yet, there is still a significant gap between “Torres deserves to play” and “Torres has now moved ahead of Doué.” That gap might simply be called a football season.
Luis Enrique never promised a fixed starting XI
Just days before the competition between the two men turned into a minor saga, Luis Enrique explained that the Parisian squad would require more rotation this season.
“There will be rotation across every line and every position.”
It would be hard to be any clearer. That doesn’t mean no hierarchy exists—that would be swinging too far the other way. Performances matter, form matters, and a player who excels over several weeks naturally gains ground. The bench can send a message, too. Doué has looked less sharp following his excellent start to the season, and Torres certainly wasn’t signed just to collect training bibs.
However, under Luis Enrique, gaining ground doesn’t necessarily mean staking a permanent claim to a spot. Since arriving in Paris, the Spaniard has rotated players based on profiles, form, opponents, and the stage of the season. Sunday’s starting XI isn’t always Monday’s official pecking order.
Competition doesn’t require a loser
Old habits die hard. We want to know who has “taken the place” of whom—as if two excellent attacking players could only thrive if one permanently pushed the other aside.
The funny thing is that, even before Le Classique, Le Parisien is predicting a lineup for this Saturday’s match in Marseille that features both Doué and Torres. Of course, that would just be one possible XI among many, and the lineup remains to be confirmed. But the scenario sums up the situation well: while we try to frame it as a duel, Luis Enrique might well decide there isn’t one at all.
This competition is actually excellent news for Paris. Torres pushes Doué to maintain his standards. Doué offers his coach qualities that Torres doesn’t. And neither player needs to be deemed a failure for the other to succeed.
Tonight, Doué might start at the Vélodrome. Torres might too. Then, a few days later, one of them could find himself back on the bench, and the great “tribunal of the pecking order” would likely reopen its doors. Luis Enrique, for his part, seems less interested in our rankings than in his options. By obsessively trying to lock in PSG’s starting XI, we risk missing out on the team’s greatest asset: it was built precisely to remain fluid.
