The celebration for new four-years deal did not go as planned for Neymar. As a first-half goal from spot, was not enough to hand PSG a win, as Guirassy equalized late in the second half for Rennes.
Paris Saint-Germain‘s pursuit of a French league title took a massive hit on Sunday as they fell to a shock draw away to Rennes to hand the initiative to Lille with just two games left to play.
Despite taking the lead in the first half, the reigning champions couldn’t see the game over the line. They are now three points behind league leaders Lille who now need just four points to seal their first title in over a decade.
Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the side that lost to Manchester City in the Champions League in midweek, with Draxler and Moise Kean replacing Marco Verratti and Icardi in attack in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe.
However, it was not one of the PSG players who came closest to scoring first. Instead, Rennes fashioned the first chance of the game in the second minute through Jeremy Doku. But the Belgian couldn’t direct his shot on target.
But overall, the visitors were the better team in the first period. And after missing a flurry of chances and getting denied by VAR, they opened the scoring through a 45th minute Neymar penalty. The Brazilian was presented with the opportunity from the penalty spot after Nayef Aguerd fouled Kurzawa in the box.
But after the restart, it was the home team who controlled the proceedings. And they were rewarded for a strong second-half showing when in the 70th minute, Sehrou Guirassy leapt highest to power Benjamin Bourigeaud’s corner past Navas in the PSG goal.
Pochettino tried to nick a winner with the scores level, bringing on Icardi in place of the largely ineffective Draxler. But the substitution did little to change the outcome of the game as Rennes remained resolute.
With the clock ticking to a close, things got worse for the away side in the 89th minute when Presnel Kimpembe was sent off for a reckless foul on Doku.
With the away team down to ten men, the home side tried to press home their numerical advantage. But Keylor Navas was on hand to deny them to keep his side within touching distance of Lille and preserve their chance of a league title.
PSG face Montpellier in the Coupe de France final on Wednesday before hosting Reims in their following Ligue 1 action, while seventh-placed Rennes travel to Monaco next weekend.
Marquinhos looks totally distraught: "When you are PSG you have to do much better than that. Lille are very good, very strong, there are 2 matches left. But we have to believe."
