Alexis Mac Allister, 26 ans, milieu de terrain de Liverpool, a récemment livré une anecdote savoureuse sur Ousmane Dembélé, 28 ans, ailier du Paris Saint-Germain, lors d’un podcast animé par Kun Agüero, La Casa del Kun. Il y raconte un duel marquant face au PSG, révélant l’intensité et la qualité de l’équipe parisienne.
Mac Allister “Don’t worry, next time I’ll catch your knee”.
“After 5 or 10 minutes of playing, he was in form and on a duel to catch the ball I extended my leg and he put a little bridge on me. He came over to me and said: ‘Brother, the next one won’t come so quickly.’ And Mc Allister replied: ‘Don’t worry, next time I’ll catch your knee.’ The problem was, I never managed to catch him.
Revenge?
It’s no use. At the time, I wanted to kill him. But it’s not worth making a fuss about something like that. They’re the best team in the world,” he says. “They fly. They have everything: they’re very disciplined, they play well, they all run. To me, they’re the best.”
Playing against a player in a state of grace like 28-year-old Ousmane Dembélé is a nightmare for any opponent. His ability to succeed with every technical gesture, to eliminate in the smallest spaces and to accelerate without warning makes all anticipation futile. Alexis Mac Allister experienced this at first hand during Liverpool’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain: despite his best efforts, he was never able to catch up with the Parisian winger, who always seemed to be one step ahead.
Dembélé epitomizes that elusive type of player, capable of unbalancing an entire defense with a simple acceleration or a brilliant inspiration. Faced with him, frustration quickly mounts, as even the most committed duels often turn to his advantage, leaving his opponents helpless and sometimes ridiculed.
But the impression left by PSG goes far beyond individual exploits. To face Paris today is to measure up to a collective machine in which each player, like Dembélé, excels in his own register.
The discipline, intensity and cohesion displayed by Luis Enrique’s team strike a chord with all who cross their path. Opponents often emerge from these encounters “exhausted”, impressed by the physical, technical and mental superiority of the Parisian club, which has established itself as a benchmark on the European stage.
