PSG in 'crisis' after home defeat to Rennes

Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti responded to Saturday’s embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Rennes by saying for the first time that the big-spending club was in crisis.

PSG again failed to deliver without Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack as it slipped to a second straight home defeat in the French league. Worse still, they failed to beat a side which played for most of the second half with nine players.

This time, there was no blaming the referee or protecting the players, as Ancelotti lambasted his underperforming stars.

“I’m very angry. I don’t think we showed the right attitude out on the pitch. It’s a very difficult time for us,” Ancelotti said. “Yes. I’m not afraid to say we’re in crisis. We have to get out of it quickly.”

Although PSG still top the league, it has only one point from its last three games.
“Sometimes we play too much as individuals,” Ancelotti said. “We need to be more attentive, concentrate more, more of everything. In every game we’ve played at home, we always have problems at the start of games.”

Marseille are behind only on goal difference and have two games in hand, while third-place Saint-Etienne and fifth-place Lyon are just one point behind PSG in third place. Rennes are provisionally in sixth place after its sixth straight win.

None of those clubs have spent anything remotely close to the €160 million PSG splurged on new players this season, adding to the already massive outlay of around €106 million last term.

PSG could find themselves down in third place after Sunday’s matches, when Marseille are away to Bordeaux where they has not won since 1977, and Lyon host Reims.

“The problem is with the attitudes. Something has to be changed and we will do it,” Ancelotti said. “Two defeats in a row at home is not acceptable. We’re not a team yet, we will change things.”

- AP