SHENZHEN, China, Sporting Alert — Second half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di María carried Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-1 victory over Stade Rennes in the French Super Cup here in Shenzhen on Saturday.
The French Ligue 1 champions fell behind early when Adrien Hunou put Rennes ahead in the 13th minute, but PSG managed to recover to earn what was a deserving victory thanks to goals from Mbappe and Di Maria after halftime.
Hunou gave the French Cup winners the lead, despite PSG’s dominance in the first half when he ghosted into the area unmarked to direct a cross easily beyond Alphonse Areola with the inside of his left thigh.
Paris Saint-Germain continued to dominate the game but their efforts were without success.
Pablo Sarabia long-range shot pulled right of the goal with Tomas Koubek going at full stretch, while Edinson Cavani and Mbappe were also off target inside the opening 45 minutes.
After the break, Thomas Tuchel’s side eventually grabbed an equaliser when Marquinhos played a perfectly weighted ball to the unmarked Sarabia, who found Mbappe to score and made it 1-1 in the 57th minute.
PSG’s superiority continued and the French giants were well rewarded when substitute Di Maria got the winner with a spectacular free-kick in the 73rd minute.
The Argentine midfielder, who was introduced 12 minutes before scoring the winning goal, fired home a left-footed dipping curler over the wall and past goalkeeper Koubek.
Paris Saint-Germain, with the victory, were celebrating their seventh successive hold on the Super Cup, which is a record that eclipsed the six won by Lyon.
New signing Ander Herrera played 61 minutes on his debut for PSG before he was replaced by Di Maria.
However, as expected, Brazilian forward Neymar did not feature as he continues to sort out his future.
Neymar has been linked with a move back to Barcelona, while Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and other top European clubs are said to be monitoring his situation.
Mbappe recently came out in support of Neymar, stating that even wants the Brazil star to stay.
