Days after lifting the UEFA Super Cup, Paris Saint-Germain were beaten. beIN Sports reported that Florian Thauvin’s goal settled Sunday night’s Trophée des Champions final, a 1-0 win for Lens against a side that arrived as champions of France and of Europe. The result landed on a squad still being rebuilt in mid-window. PSG vs Rennes is the fixture that follows, and Les Parisiens have never been a club that lets a night like that sit for long.
Goal.com has published its full preview of PSG vs Rennes, and this Ligue 1 opener carries more than the usual opening-weekend weight. Paris are defending the title they won for a record-extending 14th time last season, with five new signings absorbed into the group and a lost final already on the ledger. This is the first honest read on what Luis Enrique has actually built.
What PSG vs Rennes has to answer after the Trophée des Champions
Sunday was not a disaster. It was, however, a mess. Goal reported that Nuno Mendes was shown a red card for misconduct and that Lens held on with ten men to win their first French Super Cup. Achraf Hakimi did not hide his frustration afterwards, publicly questioning the neutrality of the occasion. Luis Enrique had long since made his own view of the fixture plain, and Yahoo Sports reported his blunt response when asked about the two forwards missing from his squad.
That is an unusual amount of noise around a team that has won back-to-back Champions Leagues, beating Arsenal on penalties in the 2026 final. The quickest way to quieten it is ninety uncomplicated minutes in the league.
A reshaped Paris squad, and two forwards in limbo
Five players have joined this summer: goalkeeper Alessandro Longoni, attacker Maghnes Akliouche, left-back Lucas Digne, forward Ferran Torres and winger Mika Godts — the last three announced inside eight days. beIN Sports already has the new arrivals among the signings worth watching across Ligue 1 this season.
The spine, though, is untouched. Marquinhos still wears the armband. Lucas Chevalier remains first choice in goal. The attack still runs through Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Désiré Doué and Vitinha feeding them. For all the money spent, the core of the side that won a second straight European Cup is largely intact.
What is not settled is the pair who were left out at Lens. Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye both missed the squad amid Liverpool’s interest, and Goal reported on Tuesday morning that Liverpool have submitted an improved €135m bid for Barcola after that omission — a development that follows the bid Paris were already weighing on Monday night. Both remain PSG players. Whether either is in the matchday squad is a question only the head coach can answer.
The Washington Post reported that PSG start the campaign as favourites for another French title, with spending power no Ligue 1 rival can match. That is the expectation Paris carry into every August, and it is exactly why a 1-0 defeat to a ten-man Lens side stung as much as it did. PSG vs Rennes is the reset button. A settled front line and a clean opening night, and the Trophée des Champions becomes a footnote by Monday. Anything less, and the questions that started on Sunday will follow Les Parisiens deep into September. Our 2026-27 season preview and the opening run of fixtures set out what comes next.
