Recap: Ousmane Dembélé’s Brace Seals Win Over Rennes
Match Reports
Paris Saint-Germain will be heading into Anfield riding positive momentum after their 4-1 win over Stade Rennais on Saturday at Roazhon Park.
The first 25 minutes saw PSG and Rennes remain scoreless, but in the 27th minute, Bradley Barcola broke the scoreless deadlock to give the visitors a one-goal lead.
Barcola sprinted forward and cut inside on a quick attack, positioned himself in front of Brice Samba, and calmly slipped the ball through his legs. The Frenchman's goal would be the only one in the first 45 minutes as the two sides went into halftime with the capital club leading.
In the first few minutes of the second half, the two squads exchanged goals with Gonçalo Ramos scoring first to give PSG a 2-0 lead after he scored in the 50th minute.
Barcola made a run down the left, crossing the ball to Ramos, who finished with a touch inside the Parisian box. The home side's defense was caught off guard, leading to a goal that was initially ruled offside, but after a VAR review, the goal was ruled valid.
Rennes didn't wait long to cut the deficit back to one goal. On a corner kick, the ball was deflected near the post and fell to Lilian Brassier, who finished from close range.
The contest remained close, but in stoppage time, Ousmane Dembélé, who came off the bench in the 64th minute, recorded a brace against his former club to give PSG a convincing 4-1 victory.
On the first goal, Rennes were caught off guard at the back as Achraf Hakimi made a long run and received a perfect pass. The Moroccan then set up Dembélé, who finished the play with ease. Then, on the second goal, from the left side near the edge of the area, Dembélé curled the ball past Samba.
After the match, Warren Zaïre-Emery spoke to beIN Sports to share his thoughts on the contest, in which he wore the captain's armband.
"Wearing the armband at PSG is an honor, especially at 19. I hope to wear it often! I enjoy playing with my teammates. We have a strong squad with talented players who can make an impact when they come on. We’re all working toward the same goal. We want to keep our unbeaten run in Ligue 1 going and do what’s needed in the Champions League. We’ll give everything to win at Liverpool—we’re ready for it."
The Stat: 50
Following his brace against Rennes, Dembélé became the first player in the past 50 years to score 20 goals in the first three months of a calendar year for a Ligue 1 McDonald's club in official competition.
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