It had been a perfect start to the 2021/22 Ligue 1 season for Paris Saint-Germain, with eight wins from their first eight fixtures of the campaign. But, on Sunday lunchtime, the star-studded squad dropped their first points of the domestic season as they fell to a 2-0 loss at Rennes.
Goals either side of the half time break earned Rennes the victory, with Gaetan Laborde scoring right at the end of the first half by converting a great Kamaldeen Sulemana cross and Flavien Tait adding a second just after the restart.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe had each had chances during the first half, with the former setting up the latter for an excellent opportunity halfway through the first half that the Frenchman hit well wide. A Messi freekick also struck the crossbar, so PSG were frustrated to be behind at the break.
They didn’t channel that frustration in the right way, conceding again just as the second half got underway.
That left PSG with a mountain to climb and they thought they’d cut the deficit when Mbappe finished well in the 67th minute, but that goal was ruled out for an offside from the Frenchman earlier in the move.
VAR also helped PSG, as it overruled a penalty that had been awarded to Rennes for an Achraf Hakimi challenge on Laborde. The full-back got to the ball first, so no spot kick was awarded.
That didn’t matter for Rennes, as they were able to hold on for the 2-0 victory anyway, sending PSG back to the capital with their first defeat of the 2021/22 season.
