Stade Rennais Hold Paris Saint-Germain to 2-2 Draw as Ferran Torres Scores Twice
Stade Rennais established a two-goal halftime lead through Sebastian Szymański and Esteban Lepaul before debutant Ferran Torres scored twice to secure a 2-2 draw for Paris Saint-Germain.
First-half lead for Rennes
Stade Rennais opened their 2026/27 Ligue 1 campaign by taking an early two-goal lead against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at home. In the ninth minute, Adrien Thomasson located Sebastian Szymański roughly 20 meters from goal. The 27-year-old Polish midfielder controlled the ball and fired a left-footed strike that hit the left post before crossing the line past goalkeeper Matvey Safonov. The effort was Szymański's third goal in Rennes colours and his second in official competition since joining the French side in the winter window of the 2025/26 season.
Although Paris Saint-Germain commanded possession in the opening period, Rennes maintained defensive structure while recording 28% possession in the first half. The visitors had a potential equalizer disallowed when Désiré Doué was flagged for offside midway through the opening half. Rennes capitalized on their counter-attacking opportunities in the 38th minute when Polish international Przemysław Frankowski attacked down the right wing. Frankowski sent a low cross into the penalty area, where Esteban Lepaul scored with a first-time strike to give Rennes a 2-0 advantage heading into halftime.
Torres leads Parisian response
Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique introduced two substitutions at the start of the second half, bringing on Ferran Torres for Ousmane Dembélé and Ibrahim Godts for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Torres, a summer arrival from FC Barcelona who scored in the 2026 World Cup final, made his competitive debut for the club. Luis Enrique made further adjustments at the hour mark, replacing Warren Zaïre-Emery with Maghnes Akliouche and João Neves with Fabián Ruiz.
- Sebastian Szymański scores from outside the penalty box to give Rennes a 1-0 lead.
- Esteban Lepaul finishes a low cross from Przemysław Frankowski to make it 2-0.
- Ferran Torres and Ibrahim Godts replace Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
- Ferran Torres scores for PSG from a through ball by Fabián Ruiz.
- Ferran Torres scores his second goal of the match to equalize at 2-2.
The tactical changes altered the momentum in the second half. In the 71st minute, Fabián Ruiz played a through ball behind the Rennes defensive line to Torres. The forward advanced into the box and scored past Brice Samba in a one-on-one situation. Torres struck again eleven minutes later, scoring his second goal in the 82nd minute to level the score at 2-2.
Defensive clearances and closing stages
Both managers utilized their remaining substitutions during the final quarter of the match. Rennes replaced Szymański with Alan Do Marcolino and Nagida with Quentin Merlin in the 78th minute, while Frankowski and Isaac Soumaré made way for Reynolds and Arnaud Nordin in the 88th minute. Paris Saint-Germain brought on Lucas Beraldo for Vitinha in the 69th minute.
Rennes pressed for a late winner in the closing minutes, but defender Willian Pacho executed a goal-line clearance to prevent a third goal for the home side. Match referee cautioned Adrien Thomasson and Mousa Tamari for Rennes, as well as Achraf Hakimi for Paris Saint-Germain.
Context in the title defence
The 2-2 result followed Paris Saint-Germain's victory in the UEFA Super Cup and a 1-0 loss to RC Lens in the French Super Cup a week earlier. In that previous match, Lens featured Maik Nawrocki and Michał Skóraś, while PSG defender Nuno Mendes received a red card that resulted in a three-match domestic suspension. Without Mendes available at left-back, Paris Saint-Germain collected one point from their opening league fixture. Elsewhere in the opening round of Ligue 1 fixtures, Lille OSC secured a 2-0 away victory over Angers SCO.
