Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain staged a comeback with a 3-1 triumph against Rennes on Sunday, elevating them to the third spot in the French league standings.
Midfielder Vitinha, right-back Achraf Hakimi, and forward Randal Kolo Muani all contributed to the scoresheet, dealing Rennes their initial defeat of the season. This victory put PSG on par with Brest in terms of points and advanced them to third place due to superior goal difference. They now trail league leaders Monaco by a mere two points, having completed eight rounds of matches. Meanwhile, Rennes slipped to the eighth position.
Coach Luis Enrique\’s PSG had recently suffered a heavy 4-1 loss to Newcastle in the Champions League and had previously played to a goalless draw against lowly Clermont.
PSG displayed early nerves as Rennes launched a strong opening, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making an impressive save to deny forward Arnaud Kalimuendo\’s powerful shot in the sixth minute.
Vitinha opened the scoring for PSG with a well-placed curling shot from the left side of the penalty area in the 32nd minute, and Hakimi doubled their advantage just four minutes later, momentarily steadying PSG.
However, PSG\’s defensive weaknesses were exposed by Rennes in the 56th minute when forward Amine Gouiri breezed past central defender Milan ล kriniar and beat Donnarumma. Kolo Muani, coming off the bench, capitalized on Hakimi\’s pass to reinstate PSG\’s two-goal lead in the 58th minute.
Despite being the league\’s leading scorer with seven goals, PSG star Kylian Mbappรฉ squandered a golden opportunity, sending his shot over the goal in the closing stages of the match.
In an earlier fixture, under the guidance of Gennaro Gattuso, Marseille secured their inaugural victory, with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notching his first league goal for the club in a convincing 3-0 home win against 10-man Le Havre, propelling them to the sixth position in the league standings.
