When English football fans think back to Liverpool’s famed comeback from 3-0 down to beat Barcelona in 2019, many will recall Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quickly-taken corner routine to fox the defenders or the general scenes of what the Catalans would call a remontada.
But Barca and France fans remember it not for the second leg but a moment with seconds remaining at the Camp Nou a week earlier.
Ousmane Dembele, the fleet-footed winger from between Paris and Rouen, received a square ball from Lionel Messi and had an easy finish to make it 4-0.
Shoot either side of Alisson and Barcelona were into the Champions League final. At 3-0 up, they had one foot firmly in the Madrid final anyway. But 4-0 would be too much even for this great Liverpool side to turn around on a fever-pitched European night under the Anfield lights.
Instead, Dembele fumbled the effort and the ball rolled into the grateful grasp of Alisson. The rest, as they say, is history… and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool went on to the final at the Wanda Metropolitano to win their sixth European crown.
This was the most pivotal moment in Liverpool winning that trophy. The bench had invited Alisson to go up for a late Reds corner but the Brazil No 1 wagged his finger and rejected. Despite the actual save being a regulation stop, his role should never be understated.
Ousmane Dembele is in the form of his life prior to PSG’s Champions League tie with Liverpool
Dembele’s first leg miss for Barcelona was a crucial moment in the semi-finals six years ago
The Frenchman’s position has been adapted at PSG and he has scored 18 goals so far in 2025
For Dembele, though, this was his career in a microcosm. ‘If used properly, he could be the best player in the world,’ said former Barca boss Xavi, while his ex-Rennes manager Julien Stephan once insisted: ‘If he was a better finisher, he could have won a Ballon d’Or by now.’
Six years on from that moment, Dembele can finally say he is indeed a better finisher. And, boy, can he finish. In 2025 alone, he has 18 goals – more than anyone in Europe’s top five leagues by some stretch. Even scoring machine Mohamed Salah has only – ‘only’ said in jest – hit 10.
As for this season in full, only five men have outscored Dembele, a winger by trade, in the big leagues: Robert Lewandowski, Salah, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. It would be wrong to call him a late bloomer but, finally, at 27, the Frenchman is fulfilling his potential.
The Parisiens love him. As Mail Sport went for a trot along the banks of the Seine up to the Eiffel Tower and back on Tuesday, in the glorious spring sunshine, plenty of PSG shirts were spotted: many still bearing the names of Messi and Neymar… but more with Dembele.
Outside the Parc des Princes, the club shop was doing a roaring trade. Mbappe is forgotten, now Dembele is the poster boy of this new-look team. If he continues like this, Dembele may well be on the podium at the stunning Theatre du Chatele for this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
It has not always been this way.
‘He has been literally unplayable and unstoppable,’ French football expert Julien Laurens tells Mail Sport. ‘It has been a really interesting journey for him. When you think of young Dembele at Rennes and then at Dortmund, he was such a prodigy.
‘It was extraordinary, we had not seen anything like this in France for years. So many skills, dribbling, two feet, no pressure. At Rennes, he was like a UFO… something from another planet!’
Dembele was viewed as a prodigy at Rennes and then Dortmund before moving to Barcelona
Joan Laporta said Dembele would be ‘better than Mbappe’ after signing him for £135.5million
Dembele’s time at Barcelona is largely remembered for poor finishing and a string of injuries
After excelling in France and then Germany, Barcelona paid £135.5million to sign him in 2017 and president Joan Laporta said he will be ‘better than Mbappe’. There were some high times there but his La Liga career is largely remembered for poor finishing and injuries.
Indeed, Transfermarkt data records 14 separate muscle blows at the Camp Nou, spending 784 days sidelined and featuring in just 37 per cent of league games. He also struggled with the lifestyle – he wanted to live like every other man in their young 20s but could not.
One source points to a turning point as his 2021 marriage in Morocco which surprised team-mates because they did not even know he had a girlfriend. He soon became a father and started working with an injury prevention specialist, also employing a French nutritionist.
His last contract at Barca came in time of financial turbulence so he inserted a €50m ($41m) release clause – which PSG were well aware of. ‘Things looked like they were working out under Xavi at Barca but he wanted to be in Paris and play with his super close friend Mbappe,’ adds Laurens.
‘PSG thought they were getting an absolute bargain – he was French, a good age, a no brainer. They thought they could take him to the next level. (Manager) Luis Enrique knew he could transform him.
‘Living in Paris has been good for him, the life is easier for him and he knew this team would become his when Mbappe left for Real Madrid. He knew he could become the boss of the team. He knew he was ready, Ousmane knew it was his time now.’
Luis Enrique, a Champions League winner as Barca boss, spent hours working with Dembele on changing his position to be a false No 9. They have pored over clips in the analysis room looking at positioning, body shape and the right time to shoot.
The 27-year-old may well have tried too hard to impress in the past but was inspired by a video of Salah where the Egyptian says players do not have to be at their top level for 90 minutes, as long as they come to life when it matters.
Dembele has become the key figure in the PSG team following Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid
Luis Enrique spent hours working with Dembele on changing his position to be a false No.9
Dembele has now taken on a leader-like role at PSG in a squad filled with young talents
His finishing has been transformed since the turn of the year and will post a threat to Liverpool
‘We are witnessing a phenomenon,’ wrote a Le Parisien columnist on Dembele this week, while Luis Enrique described him as ‘like a Playstation footballer’.
PSG have long been the laughing stock of the continent for some of their flops on the biggest stage. But Luis Enrique has pivoted them away from a egotistical team of galacticos to a young squad that is not full of individuals but one that thrives off tight-knit togetherness.
Dembele is now the leader-like figure but he is supplemented by talented stars such as Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Walter Zaire-Emery. New signing, Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, will add a new dimension after his January move from Napoli.
As for that Ballon d’Or shout from old coach Stephan, several contenders will be on the pitch on Wednesday when Dembele and friends meet Salah and Co in the Parc des Princes. Since losing to Bayern Munich in November, PSG are unbeaten in 22 games and scored 66 goals in that time.
Given the form of both teams, this is a match-up that would be fitting for May’s grand final in Munich.
‘Since the turn of the year, Dembele has been transformed completely,’ says Laurens. ‘At the start of this season he would miss sitter after sitter. We never thought he could improve this drastically to be so efficient.
‘No one in their wildest dreams at the club would have thought he could turn into prime Brazilian Ronaldo!’
