Ousmane Dembele sends ominous 'we're back' message to PSG's rivals after scoring another Puskas contender in 5-0 Classique rout of Mason Greenwood's Marseille

A Facundo Medina own goal and efforts from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lee Kang-in rounded off a comprehensive win for PSG and restored their two point lead at the top of the table. Dembele deservedly picked up the Man of the Match prize for his showing, with his second goal proving to be the highlight of the contest.

There didn't appear to be much on when the France international picked the ball up wide near the right touchline, but he proceeded to jink towards the box before leaving two Marseille defenders for dead and bearing down on goal, eventually finding the net with a superb outside-of-the-foot shot. Fans on social media instantly touted Dembele as a potential Puskas Award nominee for the special strike, which was his ninth goal in 22 appearances across all competitions this season.

Dembele generated similar buzz when scoring an outrageous chip against Lille in January, but it remains to be seen if either goal is nominated for the 2026 Puskas prize.

PSG stormed to the treble last season but have not yet hit top gear in 2025-26 under Luis Enrique. Indeed, they had to make do with a place in the Champions League knockout stage playoffs after missing out on a top-eight finish in the league phase, and have been unable to pull away from Lens at the Ligue 1 summit, while an early Coupe de France exit was also suffered at the hands of neighbours Paris FC.

However, Dembele is confident that PSG are hitting their stride at the perfect time, and fired a warning to all of their rivals after his masterclass against Marseille. "It's a special match for all Parisians," he told reporters. "We were determined to play a great game and send a message to everyone: we're back, and in this second half of the season, we're going to do everything to win everything."

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Retaining their Ligue 1 and Champions League crowns is certainly not beyond PSG if Dembele carries this level of performance into the finishing straight of the campaign. Luis Enrique talked up the 28-year-old's importance to Ligue 1+ after the final whistle, saying: "He's a different kind of player. That's why he won the Ballon d'Or. The way he plays is something else. It's a real pleasure to have a player of this caliber. I'm very happy for him, for the team. We have to keep going."

The former Barcelona boss added: "We expected a difficult match. Today, I think it was like that during the first half, but we overcame the opponent, we played very well. I think we clearly deserved this victory."

In stark contrast, it was a night to forget for Marseille, who didn't get close to repeating their 1-0 home win over PSG back in September. Roberto De Zerbi's side were completely blown away at the Parc des Princes, and former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood was woefully ineffective in his 80 minutes on the pitch as he failed to muster a single shot on target.

It was Marseille's worst-ever defeat in Le Classique after over 110 meetings between the two clubs, and club captain Leonardo Balerdi refused to make any excuses for the shocking result, which leaves De Zerbi's side 12 points adrift of PSG. "We can't accept this, we didn't come here to do this," Balerdi said to Ligue 1+. "We were completely off our game in the first half, it shows against a team like this."

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