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Coachless Rennes stuns Ligue 1 leader PSG and ends winless run
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- Coachless Rennes stuns Ligue 1 leader PSG and ends winless run
Coachless Rennes stuns Ligue 1 leader PSG and ends winless run
RENNES, France (AP) — Coachless Rennes stunned Ligue 1 leader Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 at home and snapped a five-game winless run on Friday.
The home side fired coach Habib Beye on Monday after its early season gains looked to be slipping away, and it was a firm underdog against PSG, which came to Brittany after winning all seven of its last league fixtures.
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But Rennes hit the post early on and it got a reward for its confident start after 33 minutes. Jordanian midfielder Mousa Al-Tamari charged forward on the counterattack and found enough space between two defenders on the edge of the penalty area to curl in a superb opener.
PSG came into the game but was hesitant in front of goal and Esteban Lepaul doubled Rennes' lead midway through the second half. The prolific center forward rose highest to bullet a header past Matvey Safonov for his 11th goal of the season.
Former Rennes player Ousmane Dembélé pulled one back for PSG two minutes later but Breel Embolo restored Rennes' two-goal cushion in the 81st when he finished off another counterattack.
PSG remained atop the table but second-placed Lens can take over if it beats Paris FC on Saturday.
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Rennes moved above Lille into fifth place.
Monaco overcame lowly Nantes 3-1 for its fourth league game without defeat. Monaco rose three places to seventh after a horrendous run of seven losses in eight league games from the start of December to mid-January.
Ivory Coast winger Adingra scored in the 25th and 28th minutes and Denis Zakaria added a third after half an hour — his first goal of the season — to put Monaco in the driver's seat.
Fabien Centonze pulled a goal back on the stroke of halftime for Nantes. Although Aleksandr Golovin 's dismissal after 65 minutes gave Nantes a man advantage for most of the second half it could not muster a fightback.
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Nantes was second from bottom of Ligue 1, equal on points with third-from-bottom Auxerre .
With a third of the season remaining, the gap between the bottom three and the teams above them was an intimidating eight points.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
