Saturday, November 17, 2012

Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Stade Rennais: League leaders upset by nine-man Bretons

Paris Saint Germain, labouring in the
absence of the suspended Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, slid to a demoralising 2-1
home loss to Rennes on Saturday -
despite the visitors being reduced to
nine men.
PSG began the day top of the table
but level on points with Marseille, who
are in action Sunday at Bordeaux and
have played two games less than their
bitter rivals.
But this dismal showing suggests the
capital club, runners-up last season to
Montpellier, have some way to go if
they are to make a serious fist of
going one better this time round and
winning their first league crown since
1994.
This loss came on the back of another
two weeks ago at the Parc des Princes
against former giants Saint Etienne -
but even in the absence of Sweden
star Ibrahimovic it was far more
galling for coach Carlo Ancelotti,
whose side have now dropped eight
points from their past three games.
A splendid half volley from Romain
Alesandrini put Rennes into a 13th-
minute lead with his fourth goal of the
season - his first in the top flight.
Brazilian forward Nene, returning a
month on from fracturing his
cheekbone, levelled midway through
the first half and that should have
seen PSG seize the initiative -
particularly since Benoit Costil was
dismissed on 25 minutes for a foul on
Jeremy Menez.
Rennes should have been reeling
after Cameroon midfielder Jean II
Makoun also went for an early bath
seven minutes after the restart for a
second booking.
Instead, Rennes were by that stage
leading again, Julien Feret having
whipped in a freekick ten minutes
before the break past keeper
Salvatore Sirigu.
Despite their numerical advantage PSG
were unable to conjure an equaliser,
making a mockery of their added
financial muscle relative to their Ligue
1 rivals, the Qatari-bankrolled club
having spent 140 millions euros on a
summer transfer splurge.
Javier Pastore did hit the post and
Guillaume Hoarau the bar but the
visitors rode their luck and held on.
For Rennes it was their third straight
win as the Bretons went joint third
with Lyon just a point behind PSG.
"There is a God - and he was with
Rennes tonight," exulted Rennes
defender Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik
afterwards.
Coach Frederic Antonetti praised his
players for being in his words "heroic
and fantastic in extreme conditions. I
hope we can crack on from this and
use it as the launchpad for
something."
Actress Salma Hayek, the wife of
Rennes' owner Francois-Henri Pinault,
told Canal television: "I am very proud,
very happy - it was heroic as PSG are a
fine team and Rennes played so well."


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