The Ballon d’Or frontrunner rested the entire group stage after sustaining a thigh injury and was limited to substitute appearances in earlier knockout rounds, getting his first start of the tournament on Wednesday against the LaLiga titans.
He made an immediate impact, aiding Fabian Ruiz in the opening goal in the sixth minute before sending one into the net three minutes later at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Luis Enrique previously told reporters that he believed Dembele is deserving of the Ballon d’Or, and on Wednesday said there was no doubt that the Frenchman had once again shown himself worthy of soccer’s top individual honour.
“I’d like to highlight that this is the first game that I had my best player, Dembele, at his best,” he told reporters. “We’d seen him very little throughout this tournament, this is a critical player, a unique player, a player that every fan wants to see… hopefully we can have him for the final.”
The trophy on Sunday against Chelsea would mark a glittering end to a terrific season, as Luis Enrique steered the team to the continental treble, with a 5-0 defeat of Milan in the Champions League final in his second year with the team.
“We are one game away to not just make history but to build to history of Paris, of a French club that might get every cup, every tournament,” Luis Enrique told reporters. “This is very significant for us, for our fans.”
The Club World Cup final is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT).
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