Angel Di Maria scored twice and Moise Kean took his goal tally for this season to five as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) cruised past Rennes 3-0 in the French Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Kean’s low strike put the defending champions ahead 11 minutes into the match before Di Maria scored their side’s second goal 10 minutes later.
The Argentinian winger made it 3-0 with a deflected shot in the 75th minute.
“We worked very hard on pressing high up the pitch early in the match. We did it very well and winning back possession enabled us to score the first two goals. That was a real positive for us tonight,” said PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Injury-hit PSG was playing without the attacking duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and Juan Bernat, Mauro Icardi, Presnel Kimpembe, Julian Draxler, Pablo Sarabia and Marco Verratti were also sidelined, but the depth of the bench was enough to secure the capital side of its eighth consecutive league win.
PSG widened its lead in the standings to five points over second-placed Lille, who travel to Brest on Sunday, while Rennes stay third, one point behind Lille.
Both sides had suffered defeats in the Champions League in midweek, as Rennes lost 3-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while PSG was beaten 2-1 by RB Leipzig.
Tuchel’s side has only accumulated three points from as many matches in the Champions League and currently sits third in its four-team group. While the win over Rennes was a temporary relief for the German coach, PSG’s chief aim remains success in the continental competition. The Paris side will host RB Leipzig after the international break on Nov 24.
