Paris Saint-Germain failed to register a single shot on target against Rennes in their surprise Ligue 1 defeat today.
PSG started with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe up front – the kind of trio you’d expect to cause a fair few problems for pretty much any defence in the world.
And yet, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were beaten without once testing the opposition goalkeeper, according to data from Opta.
It must be said, though, Messi did come very close with this free-kick, which doesn’t count as a shot on target.
13 – Paris have attempted 13 shots during this match (0 on target), their highest tally without registering a single shot on target in the same Ligue 1 game since Opta collect this data (2006-07). Disappointed. #SRFCPSG pic.twitter.com/2UL1XbLwpN
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 3, 2021
Pochettino will surely be under pressure soon as one imagines PSG’s board will at some point feel there might be another manager out there who could do more with such a world class squad.
Messi has just one goal since joining PSG – a stunning strike in the Champions League victory over Manchester City in midweek.
Overall, however, there’s no doubt that PSG have simply been too inconsistent under Pochettino, who doesn’t seem to be rising to this kind of challenge, which is very different to the kind of job he was doing in his time at Tottenham.