Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans left the stadium shaking their heads in disappointment as their team suffered a humiliating defeat at home to Rennes, making it their second loss in three games. The Parisian giants were second-best from the off, with the away side making a strong start to the match.
The visitors had the first two efforts on goal but failed to test Gianluigi Donnarumma with either of them. PSG tried to settle into proceedings after the opening 10 minutes but didn’t dominate the game by any means. Neither side was able to take control of the contest and come close to getting the opening goal.
Kylian Mbappe had the first major chance of the day. He made runs from deep and got in behind the Rennes defence, but his first effort was ruled out for offside. His second attempt went narrowly wide of the goal. He had another shot saved by Steve Mandanda towards the end of the first half and was made to pay for his miss soon afterward. Karl Toko Ekambi controlled a ball over the top and fired past Donnarumma just before the break.
Things went from bad to worse for the reigning Ligue 1 champions straight after the half-time break. Former PSG player Arnaud Kalimuendo tapped in a square ball from Lesley Ugochukwu to make it 2-0 with 48 minutes gone. PSG dominated possession, but they looked toothless in attack despite possessing the talents of Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
The visitors sat back to protect their lead, and it became a game of attack vs. defence after that. PSG was unable to do anything with their possession. Messi, who was dropping deeper and deeper to try and create something, failed to shine. Rennes caused their opponents some real problems on the break, and it looked just as likely to become 3-0 as it did 2-1. That remained the case until the full-time whistle, as Rennes ultimately claimed their second-straight win over PSG with relative ease.
The team may win the league again, but it’s clear that things are far from perfect in Paris. The fans booed Messi throughout the game and the entire team at the full-time whistle. PSG was so poor that it looked just as likely to become 3-0 as it did 2-1, and the visitors caused their opponents some real problems on the break. The defeat was indeed disappointing for PSG, who will need to work hard to regain their form and win back the trust of their fans.
