PSG-Rennes: the Mbappé/Mandanda duel, delicious Marquinhos, Omari totally beside himself… Favorites and scratches

FAVORITES

The match within the match. If he had only been a shadow of himself in Marseille on Sunday (2-0 victory), Kylian Mbappé had legs of fire on Wednesday, against Rennes (1-0), in the Coupe de France. With Ousmane Dembélé or Fabian Ruiz in the role of the launching pad, the captain of the Blues used his speed and his vision to carry the danger in front of the Rennes goal. He even caused a penalty. Alas, he came across a great Steve Mandanda. And this is the only reason why he is ultimately only credited with one goal, that of victory and qualification. “Kylian had a great match, as usual,” relishes Luis Enrique. “Steve had a great match. He confirms that he is in a very strong time. He is very efficient, decisive. He is also largely responsible for our recovery, because of what he gives off, his attitude, his leadership... Steve is, despite his age, still far from the end. He is very efficient and is still one of the top goalkeepers in Ligue 1 today,” confides Julien Stéphan. A great duel.

The Parisians are doing well, thank you for them. Close to the L1 title, they qualified for the Coupe de France final. Now, it's time for Barça in the Champions League, April 10 and 16. PSG is still in contention in all competitions. Hat-trick in sight? "We are on the right path. It's up to us to continue like this. From the start, we had the objective of arriving at this stage of the season still being able to fight for all the trophies. We are in the final of the Coupe de France and we are very well placed in the championship. Now there are these two matches against Barcelona, ​​they will be very important,” says Lucas Hernandez. And added: “We have a very young team, many young people who arrive with a lot of strength and the desire to make an impact, to show that they are capable of playing. It’s competition, that’s what PSG needs and what we’re going to need to finish this season in the best possible way.” Chick?

Hit in the calf in Nantes (0-2) on February 17, Marquinhos missed seven matches. He made his return on Wednesday, against Rennes. Winning and brilliant return. Aligned on the right axis in defense, the Parisian captain used his experience, his sense of anticipation and his quality of recovery to achieve a first-rate game. No lack of rhythm, no warm-up lap. We must also give credit to the Parisian staff, who take all precautions before restarting the injured. This is one of the benefits of Luis Enrique's turnover: everyone is ready to enter the field and perform, which avoids rushing the return of executives, like “Marqui”. One thing is certain: with the Marquinhos we saw on Wednesday, PSG is armed for the end of the season. Note that the Brazilian is only one match away from Jean-Marc Pilorget's record, 434 matches in Paris against 435.

CLAW STRIKES

An action in the form of a symbol: brilliant during the first period, Ousmane Dembélé eliminated three Rennais before making a completely missed shot, above Mandanda's goal. A vital element in Luis Enrique's system, the former Rennais has still not resolved his concern for efficiency. A goal since the start of the season. “He’s an extraordinary player,” argues Julien Stéphan, who had him under his command in Rennes. In terms of imbalance, dribbling, the ability to create space, he is an exceptional player. If he had a higher quality of finishing, he would perhaps be Ballon d'Or today, it's true. I see an extraordinary player with very strong qualities, which combine with those of another extraordinary player, who has other finishing qualities (Mbappé, Editor's note). This is why they are so formidable in the offensive area. They have a top-level finisher and another who is exceptionally unbalanced.” At 26, we're not going to change it anymore. You have to take “Dembouz” as it is.

Let's give Caesar what's his: Rennes defended very well and made every effort. With a little more success, Arnaud Kalimuendo in the first period and Amine Gouiri, in the second, could even have scored to dream of a hold-up. Martin Terrier too. However, he lacked a hint of madness, of nerve, to avoid having regrets. In the end, there was only a one-goal difference... “It's frustrating because despite their superiority, we believed in it until the end. And we missed something... We must recognize the superiority of Paris,” notes Mandanda, adding that there is no question of “blaming the guys for not having given everything, trying everything. Opposite a team which was far superior to us. Coach Stéphan admitted this: “Perhaps we would have needed more nerve earlier in the match, but I really think that if we had opened much earlier in the match, we would have conceded many more goals. .” Not wrong either…

It was Warned Omari who unintentionally countered Mbappé's shot which ended up in the back of the net. It was also he who caused the penalty saved by Mandanda. But if he appears in our highlights, it is above all because the Rennes defender completely unpinned himself after the final whistle on Wednesday evening. Several of his teammates had to hold him back. He obviously wanted to fight with certain Parisians, notably Kylian Mbappé. "I do not know what happened. I can tell you about what I have seen, what I can control and the analysis I can make of it. The rest, I can’t tell you what I didn’t see,” Stéphan evaded. Were words exchanged to put him in this state during or after the match? Without a doubt. However, Omari's reaction is no more excusable. Skid.