Paris Saint-Germain moved 16 points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 standings after a last-gasp 1-0 win over Rennes on Friday evening.
Ligue 1
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Rennes
Date: 11 February 2022
Venue: Parc de Princes
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino made four changes to the side that hammered Lille, as goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Julian Draxler, Juan Bernat and Xavi Simons, who joined Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe upfront, were all recalled.
The opening exchanges were lively, as Navas was brought into action in the seventh minute as he stretched towards the far post and parried away a volley by Benjamin Bourigeaud.
The Parisians were patiently looking to open up Rennes, who were compact in midfield and Mbappe had a chance to break the deadlock ten minutes before the half-time break after cutting inside the box but his curler missed the far post just wide.
Pochettino's charges came close to going ahead just before the half-time break after Mbappe's deflected shot came off the post and Simons latched onto the rebound but his strike was saved by shot-stopper Dogan Alemdar.
Rennes had a bright start in the second stanza, causing problems for PSG but they were let down by their finishing, however, the Parisians got into the game towards the hour-mark, with Mbappe's pace proving difficult for the visitors to contain.
Mbappe thought he had found the breakthrough for PSG in the 64th minute after rounding Alemdar from Messi's through ball and found the back of the net but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Pochettino made a double change just after that, as Angel Di Maria replaced Draxler and Georginio Wijnaldum came on for Simons, both for fresh legs.
Di Maria and Wijnaldum brought some spark and sense of urgency in attack for the hosts but there was a lack of a killer-instinct upfront while Rennes also hardly threatened Navas.
However, Mbappe netted the winner for the Parisians in stoppage time with a strike past Alemdar towards the far post after he was picked out by Messi, as PSG extended their lead at the top of the log to 16 points.
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