Paris Saint-Germain suffered a shock defeat to Rennes at Roazhon Park on Sunday (Jan 15) evening. The defeat cuts PSG's lead at the top of Ligue 1 to three points thanks to Lens 1-0 win over Auxerre on Saturday. Despite having Lionel Messi and Neymar in the starting XI, PSG largely struggled to test a stern Rennes defence in the first half. In fact, it was Rennes who would create the better chances of the first 45. Arnaud Kalimuendo – up against his former club – was causing the PSG backline particular problems, forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma into a smart save on the half-hour mark from around the penalty spot. PSG tried to the turn the tide near the start of the second half when they introduced Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi. However, those changes didn't exactly work as in the 65th minute, Rennes took the lead.
Leaders Paris Saint-Germain suffered a second successive away defeat in Ligue 1 as Rennes claimed a deserved victory. Captain Hamari Traore scored the only goal midway through the second half with a low finish from inside the area after good work by Adrien Truffert.
Substitute Kylian Mbappe should have equalised when he raced through on goal but blazed wildly over the bar.
The defeat means PSG stay three points clear of second-placed Lens, who beat Auxerre 1-0 on Saturday.
It was a deserved victory for Rennes, who created the better chances and were defensively resilient as PSG pushed for an equaliser late on.
Christophe Galtier's side, who lost away second-placed Lens on New Year's Day, failed to muster a shot on target until the 81st minute when Juan Bernat's volley was tipped over by Steve Mandanda.
Despite the defeat it was a memorable evening for teenager Warren Zaire-Emery, who became the youngest player to start a Ligue 1 game for PSG at the age of 16 years and 313 days.
Elsewhere, Wissam Ben Yedder scored a 14-minute first-half hat-trick as Monaco thrashed Ajaccio 7-1.
Breel Embolo scored twice with Axel Disasi and Krepin Diatta also on target as Philippe Clement's side moved above Rennes and into fourth in the table on goal difference.
