RENNES (Reuters) – Paris St Germain returned to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Rennes after Achraf Hakimi scored one goal and created another on Sunday to help the capital club move up to third in Ligue 1 two points off the pace set by AS Monaco.
PSG missed out on top spot last weekend when they were held to a goalless stalemate at Clermont Foot before they were humbled 4-1 away to Newcastle United in the Champions League, but they showed no sign of a hangover from their midweek loss.
PSG went ahead after a superb run from Ousmane Dembele who cut in from the flank and skipped past several challenges before finding Vitinha, who made space and curled his effort from the edge of the box into the top corner after 32 minutes.
Before Rennes could recover, the Roazhon Park crowd was silenced once again four minutes later when PSG right back Hakimi ghosted past an unsuspecting defence and headed in 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery’s cross from close range.
Rennes improved after the break and hit back in the 56th minute when they pounced on a loose pass and Amine Gouiri headed home Ludovic Blas’s cross to halve the deficit.
PSG’s Luis Enrique brought on Randal Kolo Muani a minute later and the forward got on the scoresheet almost immediately with a first-time finish from Hakimi’s pass, leaving Rennes shell-shocked and their coach Bruno Genesio fuming on the bench.
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe was denied by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda late on and the Frenchman also missed the target moments later after rounding the keeper as he desperately looked for a goal.
The defeat leaves Rennes eighth in the standings.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
