Ligue 1 leaders Paris St. Germain suffered a 3-1 defeat to Rennes, who overcame the sacking of coach Habib Beye this week to end a four-game losing streak at Roazhon Park.
PSG remains on 51 points after 22 games and could be surpassed on Saturday by Lens, who travels to Paris FC. Rennes moves up to fifth place with 34 points, five points behind Marseille in fourth.
Mousa Tamari and Esteban Lepaul put Rennes ahead 2-0 before Ousmane Dembele pulled one back for PSG, who battled for an equalizer but were caught off guard when Breel Embolo added a third.
“We started the game badly, but Rennes played a very good game,” Dembele told Ligue 1+, before suggesting his teammates had let themselves down.
“We have to put more desire. We have to play for Paris Saint-Germain to win matches because if we play alone on the pitch, it’s not going to work; we’re not going to win the titles we want.
“Last season, we put the club in front before thinking about ourselves. We have to find that (again), especially in these matches.”
Rennes seized the lead in the 34th minute on the counterattack, with Tamari twisting and spinning defender Willian Pacho before unleashing a curling drive into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box.
Rennes’ second goal came after 69 minutes, when Lepaul headed in from Sebastian Szymanski’s corner.
Three minutes later, PSG responded with a header from former Rennes attacker Dembele that beat goalkeeper Brice Samba.
PSG then heaped on the pressure, and Samba saved a low shot from substitute Goncalo Ramos before the hosts added a third in the 81st minute, with Embolo turning in Ludovic Blas’ cross.
