Rennes 2-0 PSG: 5 talking points as wasteful visitors suffer first defeat of season

Rennes 2-0 PSG: 5 talking points as wasteful visitors suffer first defeat of season | Ligue 1 2021-22

Modified Oct 03, 2021 17:12 GMT

Rennes scored within seconds of the half-time whistle to record a shock win over PSG.

#3 Bruno Genesio's impressive record against PSG continues

Bruno Genesio has a great record against PSG.

PSG have been a force to reckon with in Ligue 1 since their takeover by QSI in 2011. Only a few teams have been able to record memorable wins against them. With their win over the league leaders, Rennes have joined Lyon with five wins, the most against PSG during this period.

Current Rennes manager Bruno Genesio has won four games as a coach against the Paris giants. This one was his first with Rennes, with his other three victories over PSG coming while he was with Lyon.

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This was only the third win of the season for Rennes. Bruno Genesio will be happy that his side are the first to defeat the runaway Ligue 1 leaders this season.

#2 Mauricio Pochettino needs to experiment a bit with his star-studded squad

PSG have a six-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.

Star-studded PSG have a comfortable six-point lead in the league standings, despite their defeat to Rennes. Despite Messi, Neymar and Mbappe starting against Rennes, PSG struggled to produce any remarkable attacking output.

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Pochettino has resorted to a 4-3-3 formation to accommodate the three superstars, with Messi donning a false nine role. With PSG having a comfortable lead atop the league standings, the Argentine tactician should look to keep his team fresh by making better use of his squad depth.

#1 Lionel Messi's wait for a first Ligue 1 goal continues

Lionel Messi has scored just once for PSG.

Lionel Messi's search for his first Ligue 1 goal for PSG continued, as he drew a blank against Rennes. After opening his PSG account in the 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester City in midweek, Messi failed to end his Ligue 1 duck.

The Argentine magician came tantalisingly close to opening his Ligue 1 account, with his first-half effort from a free-kick rattling against the crossbar. That was the closest Messi would come to finding the back of the net in this game. The Rennes defeat marks Messi's first reverse across competitions for PSG.

The international break couldn't have come at the right time for Lionel Messi, who'll hope for better returns when the league season resumes in two weeks' time.