Stade Rennais is preparing for a perilous trip, as Bruno Genesio’s men face Ligue 1 leaders PSG at the Parc des Princes this Friday (9 p.m.). A 24th day of Ligue 1 where the Rennais will always be deprived of Doku, Tait, Gélin and Salin (injured). On the Parisian side, Neymar, Ramos and Herrera are forfeited for the match. But before facing Mbappé, Messi and others, Rennes has a few arguments to make.
Rennes are the team that have beaten PSG the Qatari version the most
Since the arrival of Qatar at the management of PSG, no team has beaten Paris in France more than Stade Rennaiswith five victories in Ligue 1 (like Lyon), as well as victory in the 2019 French Cup final. Rennes became the first team in Europe to beat PSG this seasonand remains to this day the only team in Ligue 1 to have inflicted a defeat on the capital club, with the match winning 2-0 last September at Roazhon Park.
Bruno Genesio details the recipe to annoy PSG: “The solution already is to play a match at 100%, or even more, of our possibilities, to have a little success, because I remember that in the first leg at 0-0 they had this free kick on the bar that could have changed the game. But we had an almost perfect match in defensive and offensive animation. We knew, each time we had the ball, to cause them problems and play our game too. We were also able to defend well, it takes a lot to beat them.”
The Rennes coach is also the European coach to have beaten Paris QSI version most oftenwith four victories (three with Lyon, one with Rennes): “I do not know where it comes from. I do not prepare them differently from other matches in any case. I was certainly also lucky to have players capable of making very good matches against Paris. It’s a set of things, I don’t think there is any different preparation between the Paris match and the other matches. Again, it really takes a lot of favorable circumstances to create an achievement there.“
We showed quite a few times against them that we were capable of putting them in difficulty. – Nayef Aguerd
On the side of Nayef Aguerd, who recalled his importance in the Rennes collective with an XXL performance against Brest, we say that we are not afraid of this Parisian team more than reason: “We know that they are quality players, they have a lot of talent. I don’t want to talk about the opponent but above all about us: we showed quite a few times against them that we were capable of putting them in difficulty, especially in the first leg in Rennes. You have to go there with a lot of confidence. We must not be afraid to play against them, even if we know that at the Parc it is not the same team, but we are ready.”
Last year, Rennes sank at the Parc des Princes, with a 3-0 defeat against a PSG yet deprived of Mbappé and Neymar. And another statistic may worry Rennes before playing PSG: since the arrival of QSI, the Parisians have never lost in the league just before a round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. Next Tuesday, the capital club faces Real Madrid in the competition.