French Clubs

RENNES, France - Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Rennes on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.

Rennes won thanks to goals by Gaëtan Laborde and Flavian Tait each side of the interval to end PSG's eight-game winning run in the league.

PSG, only previously beaten in the pre-season Trophée des Champions by Lille, stayed top of the standings with 24 points, six ahead of second-placed Lens who beat Reims 2-0 on Friday. Rennes moved up to seventh on 12 points.

Manchester City looked like a world beater in its first Champions League match of the season, the type of team that can score at will, whenever it wants. Match Day 2 was a different story for Pep Guardiola’s side, and the Bernardo Silva miss vs PSG may haunt the Citizens if they’re unable to claim first place in Group A.

It was billed as the most expensive football match in the world — the $1.10 billion squad value of PSG against the $1.16 billion of Manchester City. There was also the subplot of the most expensive transfer of the summer, City’s Jack Grealish at $135.5 million, versus PSG’s acquisitions of Lionel Messi, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi. All five started.  

This is what Reign fans were hoping for when Olympique Lyonnais became the NWSL club’s majority owner last year. This is what fans of all the other NWSL teams were afraid of when one of the league’s best-supported clubs joined together with the most dominant force in European women’s football.

OL Reign’s Lyon connection paid massive dividends in a 3-0 win over the Orlando Pride on Sunday. Two Lyon stars linked up for one of the prettiest goals you’ll see all year, an intricate piece of passing that highlighted the quality of Europe’s best footballers.

PARIS - Lionel Messi's sensational transfer to Paris St Germain was a surprise for everyone, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said, adding that he hopes the Argentine plays in Tuesday's Champions League group game between the two sides.

Messi joined PSG in August when he left Barcelona after the Spanish club — where he had spent his entire career — were unable to finance a new deal for the forward.

The 34-year-old suffered a knock on his left knee last week and is a doubt for the clash against the team led by his former Barça coach Guardiola.

PARIS — Lionel Messi is suffering from bone bruising, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday, and will miss Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Metz on Wednesday.

"Lionel Messi, following the knock received on his left knee, has undergone an MRI this morning which confirms the signs of bone contusion, a new assessment will be made in 48 hours," PSG said in a statement.

The dust has settled on the biggest transfer of the 2021 summer window, when Lionel Messi — the six-time world men’s player of the year — finally left Barcelona and joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Despite being 34, the Messi PSG contract money speaks to his continued standing as world’s best footballer.