Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes faced off this Saturday at Roazhon Park for the 25th day of Ligue 1 2024-2025. The match ended in a 1-4 Parisian victory (video highlights Rennes/PSG). After the match, the Rennes coach spoke at a press conference.
Beye “It’s strange to understand”.
“The score is tough but deserved, that’s soccer, because we had some shortcomings in the last ten minutes when they took advantage of our drop in intensity with their quality. We were a little timid in the first half, in our desire to go after them, even though we defended well with our low blocks.
We were punished for inattention on the first goal, on a contentious action on which I explained myself to Mr. Vernice: I’m not convinced by his explanations. I’m not convinced by his explanations. He tells me that my players aren’t ready, and that’s what I think about the analysis of the goal, but not about the foul committed: Paris played the free-kick ten meters higher. It’s hard to understand, but that’s the reality of the match, and we have to be able to react quickly to a free-kick.
Beye: “There were some shortcomings which meant we conceded four goals”.
We had quality ambition in the second half, we settled in their place, we had possession, we had three situations to come back to 2-2 where we lacked accuracy. I don’t see this as an encouraging defeat, even if there are grounds for satisfaction in the analysis if you compartmentalize the match.
We didn’t want to change our ambitions because it was Paris up against us, we wanted to have personality and go after our opponents, but it’s still Paris, who also dictate their game, and we should have used the ball better in a few situations in the first half. We need to build our state of mind through this type of match. But there were a few shortcomings that led to us conceding four goals. We’ve still got to grow and be more accurate in our finishing if we hope to compete with this kind of team”, comments relayed by Ouest-France.
Inevitably, there’s disappointment and regret at losing the game, even though there was a moment of domination at 1-2 that gave us hope. But Beye also knows how to be pragmatic: the result shows that PSG were better. The changes made at the end of the match hurt, giving the impression that Rennes’ chance had passed.
The Rennes coach can take some positives from the match, however, with Paris really in trouble. Even if it was a reshuffled team with their minds focused on the Champions League. It was still a serious game, and hurting PSG is no mean feat.
Of course, there are also things we need to correct in order to improve. It’s a match we need to use to grow, to finish the season as well as possible and perhaps prepare for what’s to come. The main thing is to get our heads back in the game as quickly as possible and keep the positives from this far from disgraceful defeat against a team that seems almost unstoppable in the league.
As for the refereeing, we can appreciate that Beye is not overdoing it after the controversies of recent weeks in Ligue 1. The situation is a little peculiar, and the explanation may not be to his liking, but he is not forgetting the responsibility of his players and is not crying foul.
