PSG welcomed Rennes this Saturday evening at the Parc des Princes for the 15th day of Ligue 1, a crucial meeting after the surprising Parisian defeat at Monaco (1-0) in the championship. Luis Enrique was above all looking to revive his team and regain confidence before the decisive trip to Bilbao in the Champions League. For this meeting, the Spanish technician aligned an offensive 4-3-3 with Barcola, Lee and Kvaratskhelia in attack, supported by João Neves, Vitinha and Mayulu in the middle. In defense, Safonov replaced Chevalier in goal, with Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho and Hernández in the back line. For its part, Rennes presented a solid 3-5-2, with Le Paul and Embolo in offensive support and Samba in the cages. The referee of the match was Marc Bollengier, and the Parc des Princes came alive with an electric atmosphere draped in tifos for Christmas, between the expectations of the Parisian supporters and the confidence of the Bretons on a series of four consecutive victories.
PSG
5
28′, 67′
K. Kvaratskhelia
39′
S.Mayulu
88′
I. Mbaye
90’+1
Gonçalo Ramos
Rennes
0
The first period began at an intense pace, with PSG quickly taking the initiative in the game. From the 26th minute, Pacho intervened with authority to cut off a dangerous cross from Al-Tamari, forcing Rennes to concede a corner. A few moments later, Safonov repelled a powerful shot from Rongier (27th), before making another spectacular save on an attempt from Lepaul (34th). But Parisian domination was confirmed in the 28th minute: Kvaratskhelia launched a lightning counterattack, eliminated Frankowski and Aït Boudlal and scored a superb goal on the left side (1-0). PSG continued its momentum, multiplying combinations. First in the 39th minute, Barcola shifted Neves to the right, who crossed for Mayulu, and the Parisian midfielder doubled the lead (2-0). In the last minutes before the break, Lee narrowly missed scoring a third goal after a perfect serve from Barcola on the side (45th). Paris thus returned to the locker room with a deserved lead, illustrating its desire to bounce back after Monaco and calmly prepare for the European confrontation.
The Kvara show
The second period resumed with the same intensity, and PSG continued to exert constant pressure on Rennes. From the 48th minute, Mayulu was served in the area by Kvaratskhelia and struck powerfully, but Samba relaxed and diverted the ball onto the crossbar. A few moments later, in the 51st minute, Kvaratskhelia tried his luck at the edge of the area, but the Rennes goalkeeper intervened once again brilliantly. Paris seemed to dominate the game and multiplied the chances, Barcola proving particularly dangerous by trying to hook Brassier and strike, but Samba again repelled his attempts (59th). Rennes struggled to find offensive solutions and was content to defend against the Parisian waves, with PSG who seemed to want to ensure victory in a methodical manner. Parisian domination finally materialized in the 67th minute with a lucky sequence. Brice Samba, wanting to restart towards Brassier, had the ball stolen by Barcola, who immediately crossed towards Mayulu. The midfielder skillfully turned around and served Kvaratskhelia, who scored his second goal of the evening (3-0).
In the process, Paris maintained its hold and continued to be dangerous, particularly when Barcola accelerated on a counterattack and once again saw Samba push back his attempt in the area (74th). The match took a turn for the worse a minute later, when Jacquet, already warned, made a crude sole on Ramos and received a second yellow card synonymous with expulsion (75th). Rennes then found themselves down to ten men and struggled a little more to contain the Parisian attacks and it was logical that Ibrahim Mbaye, who entered the game and took advantage of the numerical superiority, scored his goal (88th), well imitated by the supersub Gonçalo Ramos (90th+1). The Parisians thus ended the meeting with a large victory (5-0), offering comfort after the defeat in Monaco and a strong message before the next European meeting, while Rennes left the Parc des Princes without having managed to really worry Safonov. In the standings, PSG is still 2nd and is one point behind RC Lens, still at the top of the championship, while Rennes falls to 6th position and sees its streak of 5 games without defeat come to an end.
