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Soccer News: Little bit ‘frustrated’ after Messi, Neymar and Mbappé made a mistake in the defeat of Rennes

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Mauricio Pochettino was “frustrated and disappointed” after Paris Saint-Germain failed to score a shot on goal in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Rennes.

The Ligue 1 leaders’ eight-game winning streak at the start of the league season ended at Roazhon Park when goals from Gaetan Laborde and Flavien Tait proved decisive.

PSG recorded 13 shots but failed to put the opposing goalkeeper Alfred Gomis to the test from any of them, with Kylian Mbappe seeing a goal in the second half ruled out of the VAR for offside.

Mbappe had previously scored a shot over the bar with only Gomis to beat, while Neymar was far from target with a six-yard volley with scores still tied.

Pochettino also started with fellow superstar forward Lionel Messi, who had five record-breaking shots, the most notable of which saw him hit the crossbar on a free kick.

Angel Di Maria was brought into the squad in place of Ander Herrera from Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Manchester City, but Pochettino has no regrets over his attacking choice.

“I don’t think we can look at our system. We played 25 of our best minutes of the season [in the first half]Pochettino said in his post-match press conference.

“We didn’t start the game well, but then we had 25 or 30 minutes of good quality football. It was a shame not to capitalize.

“We then had two psychological blows, suffering just before and immediately after the interval. The game was then open. We created opportunities but we had difficulties.

“Rennes have grown in confidence and we have started to feel frustrated.”

The defeat was Messi’s first since joining PSG from Barcelona in August, the Argentine international still without goals in three Ligue 1 games.

Mbappe, meanwhile, scored 17 shots from his last goal in Ligue 1.

While Messi, Mbappé and Di Maria played the full 90 minutes, Neymar was withdrawn with 14 minutes left after only managing that rebellious attempt in the first half.

Instead of pointing the finger at singles, however, Pochettino has accepted the blame for his team’s first league defeat since early April, a streak of 15 games.

“When we won against Manchester City, it was thanks to a collective effort,” he said. “The first responsible is me. What we did for 25 minutes was of the highest quality.

“We need to extend it to 90 minutes. I am satisfied with a sector, we have created many situations and opportunities ”.

PSG’s 13 non-shooting attempts are the highest in a Ligue 1 game since Opta began collecting such data in 2006-07.

Rather than attribute the rare setback to fatigue on the back of a tough European game with Man City five days ago, Pochettino accepts that the lack of avant-garde is to blame.

Asked if he felt angry, Pochettino said: “Yes, a little. Nobody likes to lose games. We cannot underestimate what Rennes have done, but we are frustrated and disappointed.

“We had chances to score and then we conceded a couple of goals. Situations like this leave us embittered and disappointed.

“But it’s not about playing midweek. We have had five days since then. I repeat, today we played 30 minutes of good football.

“We were in control of the game and conceded when we were ahead. In the second half we were immediately down 2-0 and then it’s a whole different game. “

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