By Shai Mamou
Since the beginning of the season and maybe for two years, the observers agreed that the French championship is becoming more interesting. Many teams have abandoned their way too defensive mentalities, giving more credibility to the French Ligue 1. But, games like this Paris Saint-Germain vs. Rennes (0-0) reminds me that this novelty is fragile. Probably one of the most boring draws I have seen for a long time! Before watching this game, I told myself: “Paris gets better and is confident thanks to the victories against Rennes can be spectacular; it is going to be interesting”. Well, both teams were chilly, harmless and desperately non-creative.
I mean, as soon as I saw Rennes tactic with three defensive midfielders (M’Vila, Mandjeck, Dalmat), I started to doubt of Antonetti’s intentions. Okay, Rennes is a very solid team. With the rock Mangane and his 6 ft 3 in, the amazingly mature M’Vila and the unpredictable Brahimi and Marveaux, the westerners can be confident for the rest of the season. But letting Gyan and Bangoura leave without replacing them by talented strikers is a dangerous strategy. Rennes multiplied the passes but turned around Paris surface without making use of Edel, the goalkeeper. I found Marveaux far from his best level (I think he can forget the French national team for now) and the choice of letting the strategist Leroy on the bench not so relevant. But still, Rennes has not lost yet and can be satisfied of their 3rd position.
The problem is different for Paris. I still don’t know what to think of this team. Some players keep on putting in some hard work, like Jallet, Nenê or Hoarau. The game style is random and stereotyped and Mevlut Erding keeps on missing everything he does (like this opportunity where he jumped while volleying the ball). Paris is capable of the worst as well as the best but I definitely don’t see them finishing in the top 5. But I can be wrong and the next weeks will show if this team can pretend to something better…
