Lionel Messi emerged as the only positive as Paris Saint-Germain slumped to a shocking 2-0 defeat to Rennes on Sunday.
Paris Saint-Germain’s hundred percent winning record in Ligue 1 came to an end after they succumbed to a shocking 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rennes on Sunday.
It was the upset of the season in the French top flight, with the hosts putting up a valiant display to not only oust the league leaders but also get back to winning rhythm. They were indeed the better side, showing more confidence in possession and create much more dangerous chances for the most part of the game.
PSG did dominate the proceedings, notably attaining 67% possession. But they were unable to create too many opportunities, especially in the first half. In fact, it was Rennes who were leading at half-time thanks to a goal from Gaetan Laborde in the final minutes. The hosts also had a stunning start to the second half, as midfielder Flavien Tait scored within the first minute.
The goals put immense pressure on PSG who were already struggling to impose their presence on the pitch. They did manage to create more clear cut opportunities in the second half, but they were either wasteful or unfortunate, ending up dropping three valuable points.
Here, at The Hard Tackle, we will rank the Paris Saint-Germain players in their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Rennes this weekend.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 5/10
Gianluigi Donnarumma endured a horrible afternoon against Rennes, especially with all the spotlight after being selected ahead of Keylor Navas. Sure enough, the youngster struggled to impose his dominance in between the sticks and barely looked like his own self. It resulted in Rennes scoring two goals past him, even though neither exactly were your fault.
Achraf Hakimi: 4.5/10
Achraf Hakimi also had a difficult game as he struggled to deal with the dynamic presence of Kamaldeen Sulemana. The former Real Madrid prodigy offered too much space and freedom to the explosive winger, who was deeply involved in Rennes’ offensive play. As for Hakimi’s attacking game, he wasn’t involved much at all, ending the game on a poor note.
Hakimi: Awful at Real Madrid as RB, class at Dortmund and Inter as RWB
Pochettino: RB
— Martín V (@Napoleonismo) October 3, 2021
Marquinhos: 6.5/10
Marquinhos did rather well at the heart of the PSG backline despite ending up on the losing side. It was certainly not his best of performances, but the centre-back did well in taking care of most of Rennes’ attacking forays into the PSG third. Occasional lapses of concentration saw his team concede two goals.
Presnel Kimpembe: 6/10
As usual, Presnel Kimpembe wasn’t as impressive as Marquinhos defensively. He does tend to lose concentration at times and though the Frenchman did rather well against Rennes, he clearly needs to improve his approach when dealing with an opposition that can be dangerous on the counter.
Nuno Mendes: 4/10
Nuno Mendes was culpable for losing sight of Laborde for Rennes’ opener. It was another big question mark on the youngster, who simply hasn’t been able to prove himself since joining from Sporting on a big-money move this summer. Has a long way to go before he can become one of the premier fullbacks in Europe.
Kamaldeen’s incisive cross assists Laborde’s goal.. Rennes 1 PSG 0 HT score pic.twitter.com/vwDiRBaYDB
— ENRIQUE CANTONA (@minkaeric) October 3, 2021
Idrissa Gueye: 6/10
Idrissa Gueye was selected in midfield owing to his excellent form heading into the game. To PSG’s misfortunes, he wasn’t as useful as he was in the midweek game against Manchester City, as the former Evertonian struggled to offer that creative brilliance in the middle of the park.
Marco Verratti: 6.5/10
Marco Verratti was another midfielder that failed to make his presence felt despite a strong performance in midweek. The Italian did show glimpses of his talents, especially in possession while showcasing his fighting spirit throughout the game. But it simply wasn’t enough to make a difference to the proceedings.
Angel Di Maria: 5/10
Angel Di Maria was given the nod at right-wing in order to probe the weak-looking Rennes defence. But the former Manchester United star was largely anonymous, failing to get involved in the action enough to cause problems for the opposition. Not a good sign for Mauricio Pochettino, though the winger may improve against different opposition.
Lionel Messi: 8/10
Lionel Messi was undisputedly the best performer for PSG in this game. The Argentine orchestrated much of his team’s chance creation, spreading useful passes in behind the backline to unleash the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar while proving himself to be a threat from set pieces as well as his mazy runs into the box.
Lionel Messi vs Rennes
-51/61 Passes (2nd overall)
-0.47 xG (2nd overall)
-0.39 xA (1st overall)
-5 Shots (1st overall) pic.twitter.com/XZL9b2sHNC
— Pranav (@mini2810__) October 3, 2021
It was indeed a blissful attacking display from the little magician. However, to his misfortune, the ex-Barcelona superstar simply wasn’t given enough support by his teammates.
Neymar: 5/10
Neymar produced yet another underwhelming performance in the final third for PSG. He looked out of touch going forward, struggling to properly link up with his teammates while also appearing wasteful in front of goal. It is not a good sign for Pochettino at all, especially are to dominate Europe this season.
Kylian Mbappe: 6/10
Kylian Mbappe was the wasteful of the lot, as far as the PSG attackers are concerned, in this game against Rennes. The French international made excellent movements and his link up with Messi seems to improve, but the attacker never really managed to find the back of the net. He also looked selfish at times, which is not the ideal sign for PSG fans that were hoping to see him build a strong offensive partnership with Neymar and Messi.
SUBSTITUTES
Mauro Icardi: N/A
A late replacement for Neymar. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Gini Wijnaldum: N/A
A late replacement for Verratti. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Ander Herrera: N/A
A late replacement for Gueye. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
