PSG slump to season’s first loss at Rennes
Despite fielding the much-touted triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain did not have a shot on target in their 2-0 loss at Rennes yesterday, as they suffered their first defeat of the season.
After Messi hit the crossbar with a free-kick in the first half at Roazhon Park, Gaetan Laborde volleyed Rennes ahead just before the break with his league-best sixth goal this term.
Flavien Tait struck less than 20 seconds after half-time as Rennes doubled their lead with Mbappe seeing a goal ruled out for offside as PSG lost in the league for the first time since April.
Said PSG captain Marquinhos: "I think we weren't efficient enough all over the pitch, at the back and up front.
"We had chances but it was a bizarre game, very open...
"I think that if we were ruthless, the game would have been completely different and we wouldn't have talked about fatigue."
Coach Mauricio Pochettino added: "We played really, really well for 25 minutes at the end of the first half. Very good in fact.
A LITTLE UNLUCKY
"It was a little bit unlucky that we didn't score because we should have gone back to the dressing room leading 2-0 but instead it was 1-0 to them."
Messi lined up alongside Neymar, Mbappe and Angel di Maria for just the second time, making only his second league start for PSG after missing two Ligue 1 games with a knee injury.
Gianluigi Donnarumma again got the nod ahead of Keylor Navas in goal, having kept a clean sheet in PSG's 2-0 midweek Champions League win over Manchester City.
Looking to keep pace with the PSG outfit that won their opening 14 games under Thomas Tuchel in 2018, Pochettino's side created a series of chances midway in the first half - all of which went to waste.
Neymar skied horribly over after the ball broke kindly to the Brazilian inside the Rennes area and Mbappe was guilty of another glaring miss when he scooped over after getting in behind the home defence.
Rennes caught the visitors cold right at the start of the second half to make it 2-0.
Laborde, released down the right, pulled back for Tait to sweep in first time - with the goal upheld after a VAR (video assistant referee) check for offside, and greeted by a deafening roar from a full house of close to 30,000 once it was confirmed.
It could have been worse for PSG had a penalty awarded to Rennes not been overturned in the closing stages after replays exonerated Achraf Hakimi of a foul on Laborde. - AFP
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