Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.
PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs.
With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an empty net.
Always a threat on the counter, Doue, Barcola and Dembele linked up again for PSG’s third, with the latter blasting in from the right.
Dembele thrashed in another superb effort shortly after halftime to snuff out Stuttgart’s unlikely comeback hopes.
Stuttgart pulled one back on 77 minutes when Willian Pacho scored an own-goal, but the damage was already done, with PSG keeping their hopes of a first Champions League trophy alive.
“There was a lot to be proud of,” Dembele told Canal Plus. “We’ve been doing well for some time now, controlling matches and winning our games. There are players who want to win things here with PSG, who run and fight for the shirt. That’s what produces these results.”
The victory relieves the pressure on PSG coach Luis Enrique and sets the French giants up for a two-legged knockout tie next month. PSG will face either of Ligue 1 rivals AS Monaco or Stade Brestois, with Dembele saying “whatever happens in the playoff, it’ll be a battle.”
The loss means Stuttgart were eliminated from the Champions League on their return to the competition after 15 years.
“We saw today what the top of the football world looks like — I can say that without jealousy or envy,” Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeness said.
“It was incredible how they played,” he said.
Unbeaten and with a 10-point lead atop the table in Ligue 1, PSG had struggled with a tough draw in the competition’s new format. Losses to Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, along with a home draw against PSV Eindhoven, had PSG facing an unthinkable early exit in a competition reformed to favor Europe’s big guns.
Both sides knew a point would likely be enough to reach the knockouts and with PSG desperate to continue in Europe, they had fended off pre-match suggestions they might play for a draw in Germany.
Any such speculation was dispelled early when PSG energetically pressed Stuttgart into giving up a corner, with Barcola heading in a clever flick on from Desire Doue.
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved twice in quick succession from Stuttgart’s Chris Fuehrich before the visitors hit back on the counterattack, Dembele tapping in a pass from Barcola after 26 minutes.
With new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ineligible to play until the playoffs, Dembele showed the quality PSG already have at their disposal. The France forward put PSG up by three 10 minutes before halftime, blasting an unstoppable strike past Fabian Bredlow.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona forward completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute, curling into the top corner.
Stuttgart pushed PSG’s Pacho into an own-goal with 13 minutes remaining, but the effort remained just a consolation, with the visitors remaining in total control.
The only concern for PSG was a late injury to Warren Zaire-Emery, who hurt his knee in the dying stages.
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