23 August 2026

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 1, 22/08/2026

PSG began their Ligue 1 campaign with a hard-earned draw away to Rennes. The clinical Breton side surged into a two-goal advantage before Ferran Torres erased the deficit with a second-half brace.

The Match

PSG made the trip to Rennes to start the defence of their Ligue 1 crown. The fixture had originally been expected to take place the other way round, but the poor condition of the Parc des Princes pitch meant the match could not be staged in Paris. Luis Enrique’s side settled quickly, moving the ball smoothly and repeatedly forcing Rennes into errors through aggressive pressing.

However, the home side had their own weapons. Esteban Lepaul cleverly redirected Valentin Rongier’s clearance towards Adrien Thomasson to launch a counter-attack. Ligue 1’s leading assist provider from last season got off the mark by picking out Sebastian Szymanski outside the penalty area. The Pole’s left-footed strike hit the inside of Matvey Safonov’s right-hand post before flying in.

Rennes’ early breakthrough did not alter PSG’s approach. The back-to-back UEFA Champions League winners kept searching for openings in Rennes’ low block. On his competitive debut for Rennes, English centre-back Charlie Cresswell was outstanding, repeatedly snuffing out dangerous PSG moves into the box.

When PSG finally managed to break through Rennes’ resistance, with Achraf Hakimi beating Abdelhamid Ait-Boudlal, Ousmane Dembele wasted a huge chance to level the score. That proved to be the key moment of the first half. Moments later, Musa Al-Tamari and Przemyslaw Frankowski linked up down PSG’s left side. The Pole’s cross found Lepaul, who made no mistake from close range.

Luis Enrique made major decisions at the interval, taking off Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Ferran Torres and Mika Godts were introduced, though initially the changes had little impact, prompting the Spanish coach to send on three more substitutes: Maghnes Akliouche, Lucas Beraldo and Fabian Ruiz. It was the Spanish midfielder who eventually created PSG’s first goal, producing a superb diagonal pass for Torres. The forward then opened his PSG account from close range.

Rennes began to fade, as though their efforts had caught up with them at the worst possible time, even after fresh legs were introduced. PSG continued to push, and Ruiz again turned creator for Torres. This time, the midfielder delivered an excellent cross for Torres to attack the space left between Ait-Boudlal and Quentin Merlin. The former Barcelona striker headed in the equaliser.

Rennes might still have snatched victory in the closing stages had Willian Pacho not kept out Ludovic Blas’ goalbound header. In the end, despite Rennes’ huge effort, it would have been tough on PSG to leave Brittany with nothing. Another difficult Ligue 1 away assignment now awaits PSG, with a trip to Lille on Friday.

PSG player ratings

Matvey Safonov – 4

Lucas Hernandez – 3

The France international showed why he is probably only the club’s third-choice left-back at present. He looked uncertain, was poor on the ball and offered little going forward. He also allowed Lepaul far too much space for Rennes’ second goal. Nuno Mendes’ absence was clearly felt.

Willian Pacho – 5

Marquinhos – 4

Achraf Hakimi – 5

Joao Neves – 4

Vitinha – 5

Warren Zaire-Emery – 4

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 4

The Georgian winger made virtually no impact from his preferred position on the left. He did not complete a single dribble or register a shot. His second offside of the first half led to Lepaul’s goal. He was replaced at half-time by Mika Godts (5).

Ousmane Dembele – 3

The Ballon d’Or winner missed a golden chance to bring PSG level shortly before Rennes doubled their lead. His team-mates also appeared to struggle to bring him into the game. He was taken off at half-time and replaced by Ferran Torres (8). The Spaniard’s composed double earned PSG a point on the road.

Desire Doue –4

Selected Rennes player ratings

Charlie Cresswell – 7

The English centre-back was given the job of handling the most feared attacking unit in Europe, and he came through the PSG examination superbly. Strong in the air and excellent with his positioning, the Rennes defender made a big impression on his competitive debut.

Musa Al-Tamari – 6

Esteban Lepaul – 6