Dembélé's rest: a real danger threatening Barcelona against Paris
Enzo Maresca reopened an old argument at the start of this week, questioning the "advantage" Paris Saint-Germain may hold over everyone else chasing the Champions League title.
Having lost 4-2 to Luis Enrique's side at the Etihad Stadium, and deservedly so, the Italian suggested his Spanish counterpart can afford to rest his best players before every Champions League night.
The point of the remark was obvious. The former Chelsea manager said publicly that the French league sits far below the Premier League in standard, handing PSG a significant edge. The Parisians have won the last two Champions League titles without loosening their grip on French football.
According to Sport newspaper: "At the start of the current season, Ousmane Dembele was the clearest example of the rotation policy adopted by the Spanish coach, after the club gave him days of rest to avoid wearing him out with too many minutes of playing time."
So how well has Enrique actually managed Dembele's minutes? That's the question "Sport" set out to answer before the eagerly awaited clash with Barcelona.
France's most recent Ballon d'Or winner found the net again in Manchester and against Strasbourg, adding an assist in both. His season tally now reads 4 goals and 6 assists in 9 matches.
Dig into those numbers and something jumps out. The bulk of them arrived in his two Champions League appearances, where he scored three and created three more.
Dembele plays a marginal role in the French league
Proportionally, Dembele has been used far more heavily in Europe. He has played 140 minutes across two Champions League matches, an average of 70 per game. In the French league, it's 238 minutes across 5 matches, an average of 47.6.
Injury has cost him only one league outing, the 2-2 draw with Lille on matchday two. Every other missing minute comes down to Luis Enrique, who left him out of the squad entirely for the Le Mans match to give him a breather after an international break in which he played 172 minutes across 3 games for France, an average of 57.3 per match.
Clearly, then, the PSG boss has been deliberate about how he spends Dembele, especially domestically.
Break down the French star's league minutes and the pattern is unmistakable: 45 against Rennes, 22 against Monaco, 65 against Brest, 78 against Marseille and 27 against Strasbourg.
That adds up to 238 minutes out of a possible 630, just 37.8% of the available playing time, according to data from the "Transfermarkt" website.
No wonder Maresca raised his voice. A counter-example sits in his own dressing room, where Erling Haaland has barely missed a second of Premier League football, clocking 620 minutes out of 630, or 98.4%.
Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi have gone further still, playing every available minute, all 630 of them. So has goalkeeper Donnarumma.
Only one Paris Saint-Germain player can say the same. Goalkeeper Matvey Safonov has played every minute of the French league so far.
Warren Zaire-Emery leads the outfield players domestically on 79.8%, 503 minutes out of a possible 630. Vitinha follows with 496 minutes, or 78.7%, then Joao Neves on 451, a figure of 71.6%.
Below that trio, the rest periods grow sharply. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has played 377 minutes, or 59.8%, Desire Doue 355, or 56.3%, Fabian Ruiz 326, or 51.7%, and Nuno Mendes just 217, or 34.4%.
Having beaten Strasbourg and kept the pressure on Monaco at the top, Paris Saint-Germain have turned their attention to Barcelona.
The Catalans know what Manchester City discovered. All that rest handed to PSG's leading men could decide the tie.
Hansi Flick's side arrive in excellent form. They also arrive carrying far more fatigue in the legs.
In La Liga alone, the minutes racked up by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha stand in stark contrast to Dembele's workload in Paris. That holds true even allowing for the Brazilian missing two matches after returning from international duty.
Yamal has played 741 minutes across 9 matchdays, 91.5% of the 810 on offer. Raphinha has managed 575 minutes across 8 matches, a figure of 79.9% of the 720 available to him.
Nor does the comparison stop with those two. In La Liga, and leaving aside goalkeeper Joan Garcia on 675 minutes, a figure of 83.3%, Pedri and Espart have each played 620 minutes, around 76.5% of the total possible.
Eric Garcia has clocked 603 minutes, or 74.4%. Gerard Martin sits on 571, or 70.5%, Fermin Lopez on 538, or 66.4%, Rodri on 517, or 63.8%, and Pau Cubarsi on 512, or 63.2%.
Two completely different approaches to physical workload emerge from those figures. Paris Saint-Germain have been able to wrap Dembele in cotton wool domestically. Barcelona have leaned on their key men for far longer spells just to keep pace in La Liga. Will that gap decide things at the Parc des Princes?
