On Friday, Paris Saint-Germain suffered its third defeat of 2026 against Rennes during the 22nd round of Ligue 1. PSG appears tense ahead of its return to the Champions League.

After crushing Marseille last week (5-0), PSG returned to Ligue 1 last night with the trip to Rennes in the opening match of the 22nd round. The Parisians wanted to win against a struggling Rennes side, to temporarily take a five-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 and best prepare for their Champions League playoff first leg against Monaco on Tuesday.

Despite dominating, the French capital club fell against a clinical Stade Rennais while they once again struggled with finishing. "Three defeats in eight matches, including two against French teams: here is a strange way, for a European champion, to prepare for a Champions League playoff against Monaco, and an absolute reversal of atmosphere, five days after the Parisian club dismantled the ghost of Marseille," L'Equipe wrote.

"It had seemed clear to us, however, that we should not overinterpret that triumph, and that the test was not to knock down open doors last Sunday, but to follow up at Rennes on Friday night. It turns out that PSG was absolutely incapable of doing so, and it is clear that a team that cannot be good twice in a row, for now, has no chance of dominating Europe, for now."

Coming out of a defeat marked by as many chances, clumsiness and defensive approximations that dragged PSG down, Luis Enrique came to put out the fire in his preferred manner, speaking only of efficiency.

Thus, he is only half right, because that is only half the problem, the sports daily indicates. The other half of the problem is having conceded three goals while defending poorly, not always together, not always with the right tempo, not always making efforts at the right moment.

"Everything would have been simpler for Paris if Desire Doue, on a gem of a pass from Ousmane Dembele, had not attempted a slightly pretentious chip shot in front of Samba (12th), and if two pinball-like situations had ended better in the Rennes penalty area, before the sumptuous goal from Mousa al-Tamari (34th), which owed something to the poor defense of Willian Pacho and Nuno Mendes," L'Equipe explained.

This defeat, the manner of defending poorly together and the strong statement from Dembele, which did not please Luis Enrique at all, "give the feeling that PSG has somewhat cracked," the cited outlet suggested.

"His words fit the logic of an evening that saw the Parisians accumulate gestures of frustration toward each other over a few imprecise passes, a misunderstood run: this is not how they built themselves, last season."

"It is no longer time to imagine what this PSG could be in three weeks or in a month. It is time to wonder what it will be in three days, and whether that will be enough," L'Equipe concluded.

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