Rennes push PSG all the way to show they are the best of the rest in Ligue 1

On the scale of expressions of prowess and power, Paris Saint-Germain bringing almost €150m worth of attacking talent off the bench – including the man who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final last month – ranks only a couple of rungs below the level of the extravagant aggression of a military parade. Imposing, dominating, re-asserting, this wasn’t about expression but necessity as the reigning European champions initially floundered against a Rennes team that lived up to their billing as the best of the rest in Ligue 1.

PSG were forced into rolling out their new attacking arsenal early. For 45 minutes, Rennes’ incessant pressing and fluidity in transition had Luis Enrique’s side under duress. Sebastien Szymanski opened the scoring with a sliced effort from outside the box that clipped in off the inside of a post.

PSG had territorial dominance but could not equalise. Two former Rennes players – Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé – had the best chances, the latter particularly wasteful with a skied first-time effort from inside the box. Esteban Lepaul, the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, picked up where he left off, beating Matvey Safonov with a first-time effort towards the near post to double Rennes’ lead.

A reaction was needed, and it drew a very strong one from Luis Enrique. Off came perhaps the two most talented players in the league, Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. On came Ferran Torres and Mika Godts, signed for a combined fee of nearly €100m, at half-time. The former hauled PSG back into the game.

In the meantime, the €50m signing Maghnes Akliouche had come on for his Ligue 1 debut for the champions, as had Fabián Ruiz and it was the Spanish connection that ensured a point for PSG. Ruiz teed up both of Torres’ goals, the first after an exquisitely timed run in behind from the former Barcelona forward and the second a close-range header. Willian Pacho was called upon in the dying moments, making a goalline clearance to secure the draw.

“If you think about what you’ve won, you won’t win anything else. You have to show every day that you are ready,” said Luis Enrique when asked about his decision to replace Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia. He added that there had been a “a big difference in rhythm” between Rennes and PSG.

PSG’s lethargy is no surprise; it was only the nature of their opponents – Nantes and Angers – that prevented them from slipping up at the start of last season, once again after limited preparation time. “We have to be more ready,” said Luis Enrique. The same applies to the groundstaff at the Parc des Princes. The state of PSG’s pitch saw this game moved last minute to Roazhon Park; it suited Rennes, especially if, as they argue should be the case, the second game is also played at their home ground.

There is a burgeoning positivity around Roazhon Park. While the prospects of other challengers have dwindled, Rennes’ have multiplied. The wealth of the Breton club’s owners, the Pinault family, has bought them a form of immunity to the financial crisis that has now struck down Marseille and Monaco; other challengers: Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Lens are consigned to stagnation, for now.

Rennes approached the season looking second-best on paper, and after Sunday night, that perception now aligns with reality. Rennes fended off competition from the Premier League to sign the England youth international Charlie Cresswell from Toulouse. One of the best defenders in Ligue 1 last season, he was excellent against PSG; in Adrien Thomasson, Rennes also acquired the most valuable piece of Lens’ success last season, arguably the best midfielder in the division, and on a free, no less. And in Lepaul, they have a prolific striker who is very much in contention to be in Zinedine Zidane’s first France squad next month.

They have a strong spine and a brilliant manager. Franck Haise began his managerial career as a youth coach at Rennes, and they were only too happy to bring him back in February after things turned sour at Nice. There has always been the perception that there has been a missing piece in the puzzle at Rennes. Despite their means, their talented squad, their renowned academy, they had reached a ceiling. Questionable managerial appointments played their part. Haise may well be the right man, the missing part.

“There is more positive than negative,” he said after the 2-2 draw. The negative is the way the two points were ceded, a laxness creeping in, particularly from Abdelhamid Aït-Boudlal, who is nonetheless another exciting prospect. The positive is that Rennes did not look second-best on the night, but they could be come the end of the season, and for all clubs in Ligue 1, that has to be the aspiration. PSG flexed their muscles, but only because Rennes made them.

Talking points

Strasbourg should be worried after their 4-0 defeat to Marseille. They had to replace Gary O’Neil in the summer when he moved to Ipswich but there are doubts about Hugo Oliveira. This is not a vintage Marseille side, but they looked it as they put four past goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen, who is on loan from Chelsea. Strasbourg’s cause was not aided by a petulant Samir El Mourabet kick on Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, which rightly earned the Morocco international a red card on the hour mark. Conceding 21 goals in seven friendlies can be dismissed as “just pre-season”, but when that form carries into the campaign, there may be a problem for a club with European ambitions.

Despite losing Pierre Sage and the spine of their side, Lens did not look any weaker as they swept aside Auxerre on Will Still’s return to the Beaujoire, winning 5-2. The former Lens manager, who is back in Ligue 1 after a failed stint at Southampton, saw his side comprehensively beaten thanks in part to an inspired Florian Thauvin. Now wearing the captain’s armband, he scored twice and set up another as Dino Toppmöller got off to a roaring start as Lens manager. European football will provide a fresh challenge once it arrives in September, but this emphatic win eases fears that last season was a flash in the pan.

The matches in Marseille, Le Mans and Nice were preceded by tributes to Éric Roy, who was still in his post as Brest manager when he died from pancreatic cancer in June. Roy led Brest in the club’s first ever European campaign in the 2024-25 season. “We have him in our thoughts,” said Julien Lachuer, an internal appointment at the club over the summer. The new era at Brest began with a draw against Le Mans on Saturday.

This is an article by Get French Football News