Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca reopened a familiar debate at the start of this week: the "advantage" Paris Saint-Germain may hold over the rest of the Champions League contenders.
Beaten deservedly 4-2 by Luis Enrique's side at the Etihad Stadium, the Italian hinted that the Spaniard can rest his best players before every Champions League match.
His point was pointed enough. The former Chelsea manager argued publicly that the French league sits far below the Premier League in standard, handing PSG a considerable advantage. The Parisians have won the last two Champions League titles without loosening their grip on French football.
According to the newspaper Sport, "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 granted him days of rest to avoid wearing him out with too many minutes on the pitch."
So how well has Enrique really managed Dembele's minutes? That is what "Sport" set out to analyse ahead of the eagerly awaited meeting with Barcelona.
The last French player to win the Ballon d'Or scored again in Manchester and against Strasbourg, adding an assist in both, which takes him to four goals and six assists in nine matches this season.
Look closer at those figures, though, and the bulk arrive in his two Champions League appearances: three goals, three assists.
Dembele plays a marginal role in the French league
In percentage terms the gap is stark. Dembele has racked up 140 minutes across two Champions League matches, an average of 70 per game, against 238 minutes across five French league matches, an average of 47.6.
Injury cost him only one league match, the 2-2 draw with Lille on matchday two. Every other minute he missed came down to Luis Enrique, who left him out of the squad entirely for the meeting with Le Mans to give him a break after the international window with France, during which he played 172 minutes across three matches, an average of 57.3 per game.
Luis Enrique has clearly worked to a plan with Dembele's minutes through the opening weeks, and especially in the French league.
Break down the domestic numbers and the pattern jumps out: 45 minutes 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. The contrast sits in his own dressing room, where Erling Haaland has played almost every Premier League minute available, 620 out of 630, or 98.4%.
Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi have played the lot, 630 minutes each. So has goalkeeper Donnarumma.
Only one PSG player can say the same: goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who has played every French league minute so far.
Warren Zaire-Emery leads the outfield players domestically on 79.8%, 503 minutes out of 630, followed by Vitinha with 496 minutes, or 78.7%, then Joao Neves on 451, a figure of 71.6%.
Beyond that trio, the rest handed to the squad's stars rises sharply. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has played 377 minutes, or 59.8%. Desire Doue has 355, or 56.3%, Fabian Ruiz 326, or 51.7%, and Nuno Mendes just 217, a figure of 34.4%.
With Strasbourg beaten and the pressure still on Monaco in the title race, PSG have turned their attention to Barcelona.
Like Manchester City before them, the Catalans know the rest banked by the Parisian stars could decide the tie.
Hansi Flick's side arrive in superb form. They also arrive carrying far more mileage in their legs.
Take La Liga alone and the minutes logged by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha stand in sharp contrast to Dembele's at PSG, even allowing for the two matches the Brazilian missed after returning from international duty.
Yamal has played 741 minutes across nine matchdays, 91.5% of the 810 available, while Raphinha has played 575 minutes across eight matches, 79.9% of the 720 he could have played in them.
It goes well beyond those two. In La Liga, and with the exception of 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 available.
Eric Garcia has 603 minutes, or 74.4%. Gerard Martin sits on 571, or 70.5%, and Fermin Lopez on 538, or 66.4%. Rodri has played 517 minutes, or 63.8%, with Pau Cubarsi on 512, a figure of 63.2%.
Two very different approaches to workload emerge from the numbers. PSG have been able to park Dembele domestically. Barcelona have leaned on their key men for far longer stretches to keep their La Liga rhythm going. Will that difference decide things at the Parc des Princes?