Luis Enrique showered praise on Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele after his brace kept the defending champions perfect in Ligue 1. 

Dembele netted either side of Fabian Ruiz's 73rd-minute strike in PSG's 3-1 win over Brest on Saturday, having overcome Romain Del Castillo's opener. 

The Frenchman has already scored as many goals in four league matches this season as he did in 26 encounters last season (three). 

Dembele has also scored two headed goals this term, as many as in 211 career league games before that.

He also recorded the most shots on target (five) and touches in the opposition box (12) on Saturday, with his expected goals (xG) tally of 0.76 only bettered by midfielder Marco Asensio (1.08). 

"I didn't realise he scored two goals, it was a difficult match against a tough team," Luis Enrique said. 

"The least important thing is that he scored two goals, we had many chances for several players to score.

"I've been a Dembele admirer for many years, he's a different player, he comes out on the left and on the right, he has a change of pace, he's intelligent.

"When you are lucky enough to have players of the quality I have, it's a pleasure and a privilege."

PSG kickstart their quest for Champions League glory on Wednesday when they welcome Girona to the Parc des Princes. 

Luis Enrique was able to rest the likes of Marquinhos, Asensio and Achraf Hakimi ahead of their meeting with the Catalan side, something he was grateful for. 

"Versatility is what makes this squad, of course you miss some players," he said. 

"But I have seen the same ability to play, we are a young team full of desire and hunger, it's a wonderful feeling.

"We were able to rest several players, but [Lucas] Beraldo and [Milan] Skriniar were sensational.

"Fabian is in great shape as last season and at the Euros, Lee Kang-in was superb, Joao Neves great in attack and defence.

"I am very fortunate to have this kind of team. The goal is that everyone wants to keep winning titles."

Ousmane Dembele's double helped move Paris Saint-Germain back to the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 home win over Brest.

Fabian Ruiz's brilliant strike was sandwiched between those two goals as the French champions remained perfect, leapfrogging back above Marseille and Monaco after their wins earlier on Saturday.

Romain Del Castillo had put Brest in front with a penalty just before the half-hour mark after a foul by Nuno Mendes on Ludovic Ajorque.

PSG then equalised in the 42nd minute with a header from the unmarked Dembele off Marco Asensio's pinpoint cross.

Brest offered little in the second half despite PSG taking their foot off the gas, but Fabian put the hosts in front in the 73rd minute with a superb long-range effort.

Just 80 seconds later, Dembele sealed the points with his second, pouncing on a loose ball after a counter-attack.

Data Debrief: Mind the gap

The Ligue 1 season may only be four games in, but PSG have started their title defence strongly by winning all of their matches so far.

They already have a goal difference of +13 (scored 16, conceded three), with only three teams ever boasting a better record at this stage in history: Reims in 1952-53 (+17), Strasbourg in 1959-60 (+15) and PSG themselves in 2022-23 (+14).

Dembele has also made a bright start to the campaign, having already scored as many goals in these four matches as he managed in 26 outings last season (three). Two of those have been headers, as many as in 211 career league games before that. 

Paris Saint-Germain begin their latest quest for Champions League glory next week, but the extra workload required in the competition this season will not change Luis Enrique's approach.

PSG face Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday, having made a perfect start to the season with three wins from three games to sit two points clear of Marseille, Nantes, Monaco and Lens.

They then face Girona in the first of eight matches in the Champions League's league phase on Wednesday, with the competition's new-look first round running until January.

However, Luis Enrique's approach to managing his squad's workload will remain the same.

He told reporters: "It's true, the schedule is a bit different but I don't think it is going to change the way I work as a coach.

"I have principles that I think are best for the team. It is always good to have around 20 players who think they can play, rather than 12 or 13. That is something that has always produced the best results for me.

"Now we are playing every three days with an intense schedule. I am still calm. Of course players can get injuries or suspensions but I am confident that we can manage all of that this season."

Midfielders Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery are unlikely to feature on Saturday after picking up injuries while representing Portugal and France during the international break.

PSG could also be without Gianluigi Donnarumma after the goalkeeper became a father and Luis Enrique has yet to make a decision on the Italian's involvement.

Bradley Barcola has excelled for PSG this term, netting as many goals in their first three league games (four) as he managed in the entirety of 2023-24.

He was also on target for France versus Italy last week, but Luis Enrique is keen to avoid putting pressure on the 22-year-old, saying: "It would be easy to protect the players without journalists. 

"Right now everyone is talking about Barcola. People said he couldn't play in the past, that he wasn't ready for the Champions League. But we're lucky that he is very sensible, humble and hard-working.

"In the season there are highs and lows for everyone and we have to manage that. The press always want something black or white, but that is not how it is."

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos believes the club have an "electric coach" in Luis Enrique and has praised his "special touch".

Luis Enrique succeeded Christophe Galtier in July 2023, signing a two-year contract with PSG.

In his first season in charge, he won a domestic treble, winning the Ligue 1 title by nine points, and also led the team to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were beaten by Borussia Dortmund.

In 53 games in 2023-24, Luis Enrique oversaw 34 wins (64.15% win percentage), with his team scoring 124 goals across all competitions and conceding 52.

And Campos has been pleased with the results he has seen from the Spaniard so far.

Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Campos said: "Above all, I must tell you that it is a great pleasure to work with Luis Enrique every day.

"He is someone fantastic. His involvement, his energy, his electricity. That's why he is very modern.

"We are in a moment when everyone is looking for electricity for cars. We have an electric coach, who is very modern, who forces us to give our best every day and who makes the team work as a team.

"It's a pleasure to work with Luis Enrique. He is a huge coach. Special and very good."

PSG lost their biggest star at the end of last season, with Kylian Mbappe choosing to leave the club on a free transfer, ending a seasons-long saga by joining Real Madrid.

The French club brought new faces in during the off-season, with the likes of Matvey Safonov, Willian Pacho, Desire Doue, and Joao Neves coming into the squad.

Campos believes PSG were able to stick to their transfer strategy, with Neves a perfect example of getting a player they hope can seamlessly slot into Luis Enrique's style.

"What we seek is competent players, players capable of playing the game that Luis Enrique wants, and players capable of responding to what our president also demands, in terms of dignifying the name of the club, dignifying the city, and dignifying the country," he said.

"Joao Neves met the profile of the coach. The coach needed a player with this profile. We discussed it. I never hired a player that the coach didn't want.

"Joao had that profile. And we did everything to have him with us.

"I think he's responding. He's still in the adaptation phase. He'll have normal highs and lows like someone who arrives for the first year to a club as big as PSG, although he comes from a very big club with many requirements. In Paris, it's different.

"We're very happy with the arrival of Joao, as we're very happy with the arrival of Doue, with the arrival of Safonov, with the recruitment we did. We're very happy."

Despite Safonov's arrival, Gianluigi Donnarumma is still set to be PSG's number one and is now playing in his fourth season in Paris.

He has made 117 appearances in all competitions since joining from Milan, keeping 40 clean sheets in that time.

In the past, Donnarumma has come under scrutiny for making mistakes, despite making just one error that led to a goal in Ligue 1 last season, and Campos thinks he has been treated too harshly.

"No. I think there is more external noise around Donnarumma than internal noise," he added.

"Internally, we are very happy with him, and we will try to renew his contract."

Mason Greenwood is "making a difference" for Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille amid their strong start to the Ligue 1 season, says the club's chief executive, Pablo Longoria.

Greenwood joined Marseille on a permanent deal from Manchester United in July, having spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Getafe.

Greenwood had not appeared for United since he was arrested and suspended by the club in January 2022. The forward was later charged with attempted rape and assault, which he denied, with the charges dropped in early 2023 following the withdrawal of key witnesses.

He has scored five times in his first three Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille, becoming just the second player to achieve that feat in the last 50 seasons of the French top flight, after Nice's Mario Balotelli in 2016.

He scored an 81-second brace in the first half of a 3-1 win at Toulouse prior to the international break, lifting Marseille to seven points from their first three games.

While Marseille's move for the 22-year-old drew criticism from many onlookers, Longoria has been impressed by his impact on the pitch.

Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Longoria told Stats Perform: "He's a great player. He's making a difference. 

"If you're asking all the players, all the people that are in the day-to-day with the team, they can tell you that his level is amazing and we are really happy having him. 

"We are really happy about the start of the season he is doing and the behaviour he's having with us in Marseille."

Marseille pulled off what many saw as a coup to appoint De Zerbi as their new head coach ahead of this season, following his surprise exit from Brighton.

Longoria believes the Italian has been a seamless fit at the Stade Velodrome, saying: "What I appreciated was the firmness of Roberto de Zerbi in all the conversations and the connection that he has created with us since the first day. 

"This is the biggest satisfaction that I can say, and I'm very thankful to the coach for how he's adapting himself to the project."

Marseille are currently second in the Ligue 1 standings, two points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain, who lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid ahead of the new campaign.

While Longoria believes Marseille's project is one for the medium-to-long term, he refuses to put a limit on their ambitions for 2024-25.

"They are having a great start to the season as well, to be honest. Our objective is to build a project over three years. That is the number one," he said of PSG.

"Second, we are really happy with how we started this season. Our goal has to be in the Champions League and improve our level. 

"After that, let's see what the competition will put on us. We need to be ambitious, but at the same time, we need to be realistic as well. I'm not saying that we cannot compete. 

"I'm asking for a bit of patience because this is a three-year project, and we really want to improve each day, each week, and each game day. We need to improve our level."

Jordan Veretout has sealed a permanent switch from Marseille to fellow Ligue 1 side Lyon.

Veretout, who played 94 times for Marseille across a two-year stint, has signed a two-year contract for a reported €4million (£3.3m) fee. 

The deal for the 31-year-old could rise to around €7million (£5.9m), with a 25% sell-on clause for any future transfers.

Veretout made 46 appearances for Marseille in all competitions last term, registering 10 goal involvements (five goals and five assists), five of which came in the Europa League.

His 1018 successful passes was a total only bettered by Chancel Mbemba (1202) and Leonardo Balerdi (1399) in Ligue 1 last season, while he also won 22 of his 38 tackles.

The France midfielder has also made six appearances for his national side since his debut in 2021, and was part of Jose Mourinho's Roma side that won the Europa Conference League in the 2022-23 campaign. 

Veretout becomes Pierre Sage's 10th permanent signing at the club and could make his first appearance against Lens on September 15.

Al-Ittihad have announced the signing of Danilo Pereira from Paris Saint-Germain.

The midfielder, who was often deployed at centre-back for PSG, has moved to the Saudi Pro League in a deal reportedly worth €5million.

Pereira made 157 appearances for the French champions in all competitions over four years, winning three Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France twice, and the Trophee des Champions three times.

However, he had fallen out of favour, having not featured in any of Luis Enrique's matchday squads so far this season.

Pereira had the most blocks (25) among PSG players in the league last season, and completed the most passes (2084), while he won possession back 128 times, the fourth-best tally in the team.

Al-Ittihad have also confirmed the arrival of Steven Bergwijn from Ajax for a reported €25m.

The winger, who joined Ajax in July 2022, made 80 appearances, netting 31 goals and registering 41 assists.

Luis Enrique is confident that Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 win against Lille will stand them in good stead ahead of their quest for Champions League glory. 

The Spaniard watched on as his side took their scoring to 13 from their first three Ligue 1 games and maintaining PSG's perfect start to the campaign. 

Vitinha's penalty and Bradley Barcola's strike gave the visitors an advantage at the break, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring in second-half injury time to confirm the win after Edon Zhegrova had halved the deficit.

The Parisiens enter the international break two points clear of Marseille at the summit, but their attention will quickly to the Champions League later this month. 

Enrique's side have been handed a difficult draw for the competition, squaring off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid as their standout encounters.

They kickstart their campaign against Girona on September 18, with the PSG head coach confident that their victory over Lille, who will also compete in the competition this season, was a good test for his players.

"It was an away game against a team who play in the Champions League, who have already played several games and have a very different rhythm to us," Luis Enrique said.

"It was a very good test for us, it was a Champions League match for us. I'm pretty happy with the team's performance."

The revamped Champions League format has been extended to 36 teams this season, with each playing eight fixtures in the first round of the competition. 

PSG return from the international break with a fixture against another Champions League hopeful, Brest, four days before they begin their journey for that elusive maiden European title.

"There's the match against Brest after the break and that will have nothing to do with the Champions League and its new format," Enrique said. 

"I can't know what that will be like. My team is showing signs of confidence but we still lack physical rhythm in several of our players.

"The Champions League is very different and full of new things." 

Luis Enrique is confident that Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 win against Lille will stand them in good stead ahead of their quest for Champions League glory. 

The Spaniard watched on as his side took their scoring to 13 from their first three Ligue 1 games, maintaining PSG's perfect start to the campaign. 

Vitinha's penalty and Bradley Barcola's strike gave the visitors an advantage at the break, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring in second-half injury time to confirm the win after Edon Zhegrova had halved the deficit.

The Parisiens enter the international break two points clear of Marseille at the summit, but their attention will quickly to the Champions League later this month. 

Enrique's side have been handed a difficult draw for the competition, squaring off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

They kickstart their campaign against Girona on September 18, with the PSG head coach confident that their encounter with Lille, who will also compete in the competition this season, was a good test for his players.

"It was an away game against a team who play in the Champions League, who have already played several games and have a very different rhythm to us," Luis Enrique said.

"It was a very good test for us, it was a Champions League match for us. I'm pretty happy with the team's performance."

The revamped Champions League format has been extended to 36 teams this season, with each playing eight fixtures in the first round of the competition. 

PSG return from the international break with a fixture against another Champions League hopeful, Brest, four days before they begin their journey for that elusive maiden European title.

"There's the match against Brest after the break and that will have nothing to do with the Champions League and its new format," Enrique said. 

"I can't know what that will be like. My team is showing signs of confidence but we still lack physical rhythm in several of our players.

"The Champions League is very different and full of new things." 

Paris Saint-Germain continued the perfect start to their Ligue 1 title defence with a third successive victory, winning 3-1 away to Lille on Sunday.

Vitinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Bradley Barcola added another goal just three minutes later in the first half at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Barcola's fourth strike of the Ligue 1 season had PSG in control at 2-0 heading into the second period, though Edon Zhegrova reduced the arrears with 12 minutes remaining.

Randal Kolo Muani made sure of all three points, however, with the substitute climbing high to head home from Desire Doue's cross in stoppage time.

Luis Enrique's reigning champions remain top of the table on nine points, two ahead of a four-team chasing pack, while Lille are sixth with six.

Data Debrief: Brilliant Barcola frustrates Lille again

Zhegrova's late finish forced PSG into a nervier ending than expected, considering the visitors dominated almost 60% of the possession and accumulated 2.3 expected goals to Lille's 1.24.

Yet it was a familiar face who proved the thorn in the hosts' side once more, with Barcola netting in the first half for his fourth Ligue 1 goal involvement against Lille (two goals, two assists).

Only against Montpellier (six) has the France winger managed more goal involvements in his top-flight career, and Barcola will expect further domestic achievements this campaign having stepped up to replace Kylian Mbappe on the left.

Barcola's exploits, alongside the youthful midfield of Joao Neves, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, will be pivotal for Luis Enrique's side, too, this season – where they continue to succeed on the road.

PSG have now won their last seven Ligue 1 away matches, including the back end of last term, last managing more in the competition between January and April 2017 (eight).

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique is confident his players can adapt in the absence of Goncalo Ramos to continue their impressive start to the season.

PSG have taken to life without Kylian Mbappe with ease, scoring 10 goals in their first two Ligue 1 fixtures, equalling their highest tally after two games played (also in 2022-23).

The Parisiens have welcomed four new faces during the transfer window, signing Joao Neves, Desire Doue, William Pacho and Matvei Safonov. 

Luis Enrique was dealt a blow, however, in PSG's opener against Le Harve, with striker Ramos forced off with an injury that will cause him to miss three months.

But in his absence, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele have starred in front of goal, with Luis Enrique now focused on bringing the best out of the players available.

"We want to sign players, and their prices were very high. I have the players I have, I'm happy with their level, now I have to develop their potential," Luis Enrique said.

"As a nine, we can play with [Marco] Asensio, Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani, Barcola, Ramos, Warren [Zaire-Emery], [Achraf] Hakimi, Vitinha, Fabian [Ruiz], Neves... that's 10. It's the same with the defenders.

"I've got some very versatile players, which fits in with the plan we wanted for this team. Pacho, Doue and Neves — they can play in lots of different roles... so I have a lot of options in my team."

PSG will seek to claim an elusive Champions League trophy once again this season, but have been handed a difficult draw in the competition's new league phase.

Luis Enrique's side will face Girona in their first game in the competition, but will also square off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

"My impression of the draw is that it's a new competition, a new format," Luis Enrique said. 

"It's obvious that statistically we were the least favoured but I can't judge this competition because we don't know it.

"We'll say that this is a competition that we're going to try out and we've been the least lucky."

Lyon have confirmed the arrival of Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray for the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season. 

Zaha, who joined Galatasaray in 2023 from Crystal Palace, made 42 appearances in all competitions for the Turkish side, scoring 10 goals. 

Galatasaray have said that the French side will pay a temporary transfer fee of £2.52million for the services of the Ivory Coast international. 

However, the 31-year-old was limited to substitute outings for the latter stages of the campaign, starting two of Galatasaray's last 10 league games. 

Zaha's final appearance came in their Turkish Super Cup defeat to Besiktas in August, playing 15 minutes in a 5-0 defeat in Istanbul. 

He becomes Lyon's 12th signing of the transfer window as they aim to improve on their sixth place finish in Ligue 1 last campaign. 

Substitute Gift Orban scored a brace off the bench to earn Lyon's first points of the season in a thrilling 4-3 comeback win over Strasbourg on Friday.

After making a slow start to the season, Lyon are off the mark thanks to three goals created by Orban after the visitors had stretched their lead.

Strasbourg made a lightning-quick start, catching their hosts on the break with a fast counter. Dilane Bakwa's low cross was too pacy for Emanuel Emegha, but Sebastian Nanasi kept the move alive before slotting under Lucas Perri.

Lyon's pressure paid off in stoppage time though, as Georges Mikautadze latched onto a loose backpass, and though Alexandre Lacazette struck the post, Corentin Tolisso emphatically buried the rebound.

The hosts were punished for another slow start in the second half though, as Andrey Santos scored after three minutes before Emegha kept his cool in a one-on-one with Perri, slotting it under the goalkeeper to give Strasbourg a two-goal cushion.

Orban's introduction turned the tide though. His first shot was tipped onto the crossbar, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles making no mistake as he fired the loose ball into the back of the net.

He then scored twice to flip the script, leaping to volley Lacazette's cross past Karl-Johan Johnsson from close range before glancing a header in at the near post.

Data Debrief: Lyon find their shooting boots

Lyon made a slow start to Ligue 1 last season, but Pierre Sage ensured they would not have to wait much longer for three points this time around.

After losing their first two games by an aggregate 5-0, failing to score from a total of 17 shots (two on target, while creating an expected goals of 2.09 across the two matches), they needed to hit the net on Friday.

And they did just that. Lyon had 20 shots, with an incredible 12 of those on target (3.07 xG) and showed character to come from behind, something that will please their head coach ahead of the international break.

Lyon are not required to sell players for €100million before the summer transfer window ends, the French club's owner John Textor said.

The club have endured a tough start to the season so far, failing to win either of their games without scoring a goal.

Their first home game of the season saw them lose 2-0 to Monaco, with Lyon only attempting one shot in that game, their lowest tally in a single Ligue 1 game since Opta began to collect this data (2006-07).

In their first match against Rennes, a 3-0 defeat, they registered 16 attempts, though only managed two on target compared to their opponents' eight. 

On Thursday, the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that Lyon had put the majority of their squad on the transfer market to raise €75m to balance their budget and meet financial sales targets, having spent around €134m since June, more than any other team in France. 

"We do not have sales targets, and we are not required to sell €100million of players as there may be other ways to bring in revenues to maintain financial sustainability," Textor told Reuters.

Textor is the majority stakeholder of Lyon through Eagle Football Group, a holding company listed in Paris. The French side was acquired by Eagle Football in 2022, which holds 87.7% of the share capital.

The group posted a yearly revenue of €368.3m in June, an increase of 78% from the previous year, helped by events and an uptick in player trading.

Textor also said that they expect to sell maybe two more players before the transfer window closes on Friday, acknowledging that it has been a slow window in that regard and that Lyon may have missed their normal budget in the off-season.

"That's certainly true, but that does not mean that we are required to hit that budget. If it's a slow transfer window, then we hold players until the next window. It's as simple as that," he added.

The American businessman, who partly owns Botafogo in Brazil, RVD Molenbeek in Belgium and Crystal Palace in England, indicated that there is always "flexibility in how to create cash flows".

"Every company in France has the same challenge. At the end of the year, negative equity has to be restored. It’s no different in football," he said. 

Bradley Barcola is confident he can make a difference for Paris Saint-Germain this season in the absence of Kylian Mbappe after his brace against Montpellier. 

Barcola, who has three goals in two appearances already this season, starred for Luis Enrique's side during their 6-0 win in first home game of the new campaign. 

The 21-year-old opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes with a brilliantly taken finish from the left-hand side before completing his maiden brace of his career with a simple finish in the second half. 

Barcola registered the most shots (four) and touches in the opposition box (seven), while also contributing 1.17 expected goals (xG) to PSG's 3.9 total. 

He has now been involved in eight goals (five goals and three assists) in his last seven top-flight appearances for the club, and he is sure that this is his year to take centre stage. 

"I had a lot of fun, I felt free. The coach asked everyone to press together. You have to make a lot of effort, but you get used to it as you go along," Barcola said.

"I've realised that I can make a difference. Pushing the ball like that on the first goal is something I've been doing since I was very young."

PSG have now scored 10 goals in their opening two games of the league season, equalling their highest tally after two games played (10 also in 2022-23), all without last year's leading marksman Mbappe. 

Enrique's side managed 27 shots in their encounter with Montpellier, 11 of which were on target, something the Spaniard felt was coming after witnessing their ruthless streak in training. 

"I'm very happy because it's our first home game. We wanted to give the fans some joy. It was a perfect evening," Enrique said. 

"I felt it in training, the intensity of the pressing increased. We scored six goals but we could have scored 10. Today was our night... the players were incredible. It's a great feeling."

PSG continue their league campaign at the Stade Pierre Mauroy next week when they face Lille, who face Angers in their second game of the season on Saturday.