After the first eight matches of the season, the first day of Ligue 1 2026/2027 ended this Sunday with a clash between Stade Rennais and Paris Saint-Germain. A hell of a duel between two teams set to play the leading roles. For this meeting, the Bretons opted for a 4-3-3 with notably the rookie Charlie Cresswell in defeat alongside Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal. Valentin Rongier was accompanied by Sebastian Szymanski and Adrien Thomasson in midfield. In front of Esteban Lepaul was supported by Mousa Al Tamari and Issa Soumaré. On the Ile-de-France side, Lucas Hernandez was present in defense on the left side to compensate for the suspension of Nuno Mendes. In the middle, Warren Zaire-Emery supported Joao Neves and Vitinha. Up front, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratshkhelia accompanied Ousmane Dembélé in attack.
There was no need to arrive late in a quickly heated match. Przemyslaw Frankowski set the tone with an interesting first cross which was pushed back by Matvey Safonov (2nd). The Parisians responded immediately, but Khvicha Kvaratshkhelia’s cross shot missed the target (4th). While we saw the Ile-de-France residents taking the game into their own hands, Rennes was going to crucify PSG. On the other hand, Adrien Thomasson found Sebastian Szymanski in front of the area. The Pole’s shot landed to the left of Matvey Safonov’s goal with the help of the post (1-0, 10th). Luis Enrique’s team wanted to react and a sublime delivery from Achraf Hakimi in front of goal for Ousmane Dembélé was pushed back for a corner by Charlie Cresswell (13th). Launched on the right, Désiré Doué thought to equalize by adjusting Brice Samba with a dive, but the former Rennais was flagged offside (21st).
Ferran Torres saves PSG
Paris Saint-Germain continued to be present, but Rennes defended well, like this counter from Valentin Rongier on a good recovery from Warren Zaire-Emery (34th). Served behind by Achraf Hakimi in the area, Ousmane Dembélé saw his shot go over the frame (37th). A failed attempt that was going to be expensive. Just behind, Przemyslaw Frankowski tumbled down the left and crossed back for Estéban Lepaul who adjusted Matvey Safonov at close range (2-0, 38th). The Bretons were confident and on a breakthrough on the left, Mahamadou Nagida tried his luck without reaching the target (45th +1). In the second half, Luis Enrique opted for two strong changes. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé were replaced by Mika Godts and Ferran Torres. Désiré Doué thought he would spark the revolt with a curling strike from the left. Brice Samba pushed back and then won in front of Warren Zaire-Emery (54th).
Enough to sound a little more like Parisians who were having difficulty finding clear chances. Finally, the newcomers would add their touch. Fabian Ruiz served on the right of the area Ferran Torres who was going to adjust Brice Samba (2-1, 71st). The former FC Barcelona player did not miss his big debut and was already proving decisive. He then found Désiré Doué full axis in an ideal situation, but the latter’s shot in front of the surface flew away (76th). But Paris Saint-Germain had regained their momentum and Fabian Ruiz was going to cross on the left towards the far post for Ferran Torres. With a header, the latter would finish to score a double (2-2, 83rd). Rennes, however, had the possibility of going ahead. On the left side, Quentin Merlin crossed towards the far post. Ludovic Blas’ header was pushed back by Willian Pacho in front of his line (85th). Ludovic Blas attempted a last banderilla but his powerful shot flew off target on the right (90th +3). With this 2-2 draw, Rennes and Paris Saint-Germain go back to back, but the confrontation gave us some good things in view of the season for both teams.
