Enrique hopes Dembele's defensive performance can be further improved.

Thanks to a brace from Dembele and a goal from Barcola, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lille 3-0 in a key match of the 18th round of the 2025/26 Ligue 1 season. In an interview, Enrique stated that Dembele's attacking performance was excellent, but he still hopes the striker can further improve his defensive abilities.

In the 13th minute, Vitinha passed the ball to Dembele, who unleashed a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area, giving Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead. In the 64th minute of the second half, Dembele received a pass from Dué and chipped the ball over the defense to make it 2-0 for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille.

In the final stages, Barcola regained possession and scored with a low shot. Ultimately, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lille 3-0 at the Parc des Princes.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said, "It was a very difficult game. The opponent easily broke free from our pressure many times, which is unusual because our high pressing is usually effective. We played poorly in the first half when we were off the ball, and we lacked precision and quality when we had possession, so the game became very difficult. In the second half, we adjusted our pressing methods, which changed the course of the game, but the score does not truly reflect the actual gap between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille."

“The second goal was like a video game goal; only a player with Dembele’s ability could score it. Everyone says Dembele is the best player, but I don’t think so. We need to see him at his best defensively because we need a Dembele with defensive awareness.”

Enrique also said, "He did it last season, and he needs to continue that this season. We have to improve on that. He made some incredible moves on the offensive end in this game, but he still needs to improve on the defensive end, and he is the leader of this team on the defensive end."

In an interview, Dembele said, "It was a tough match against a very strong Lille team, but we withstood the pressure and are happy to get 3 points. As for the second goal, when Due passed the ball to me, I originally wanted to shoot directly, but I lost control when receiving the ball and saw that the opposing goalkeeper was quite far forward, so I tried to chip the ball over the goalkeeper, and it actually went in."

On the other hand, Paris Saint-Germain will travel to Portugal to face Sporting CP in the 7th round of the UEFA Champions League.

Dembele said, "We have a very important game coming up. We know that if we win, we will almost certainly advance, so we will play with the goal of winning."