PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique urged his players to be more “attentive” to rapid attacks after failing to win two games in a row.
PSG salvaged a 2-2 draw at Rennes on Sunday thanks to two late goals from substitute Ferran Torres on his club debut. That draw followed a 1-0 defeat to Lens in the Trophée des Champions, the French Super Cup.
“(Transitional play) was one of our strengths over the past three seasons, being attentive to that,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said after the Rennes game. “There are certain positions where you need to be sure your position is covered by another player. If you’re a little bit distracted, you can have problems.”
Both Rennes goals were scored on quick breaks and PSG's transitional play was also exposed when Lens scored the week before.
With so many players involved in the World Cup, PSG's players barely had any preseason training before beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup on Aug. 12.
“I think it depends on the physical shape of the players,” Luis Enrique said, reflecting further on the Rennes goals.
Some PSG players looked a bit jaded against Rennes, with Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé — who starred for France at the World Cup — replaced at halftime.
PSG was already 2-0 down by then.
On the first Rennes goal, Sebastian Szymanski was left in far too much space on the edge of the penalty area following a quick break down the left. The second goal was scored by striker Esteban Lepaul, following a rapid break down the right which pulled PSG players out of position.
Rennes almost scored the winner with minutes remaining following another counterattack on the left, with PSG defender Willian Pacho clearing a header off the line.
“The counterattacks were not the only problem, it was also about the quality and speed of the Rennes forwards,” Luis Enrique said. “They were very dangerous and difficult to handle.”
PSG was meant to be at home but the game was switched to Rennes because of damage to PSG’s pitch following a brutal heatwave in Paris this summer.
Defending champion PSG will be away from home again when it takes on Lille on Friday.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
PSG's goalkeeper Matvei Safonov deflects the ball during the UEFA Super Cup soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique instructs his players during the UEFA Super Cup soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A former Islamic religious leader was sentenced to life in prison on Monday in the latest Syrian court trial of officials affiliated with the rule of ex-President Bashar Assad.
Former grand mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, an Assad loyalist who was vocally in support of the government's policies, was convicted of inciting violence and justifying murder. He held the position of mufti from 2005 to 2021, when the position was abolished.
Judge Fakhreddine al-Aryan, head of the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, said the official religious establishment under Assad's rule had “justified the use of barrel bombs that targeted civilian areas and caused widespread destruction, which constitutes a violation of the rules of international humanitarian law.”
Several other senior Assad-era officials -- including Assad himself and his brother, Maher -- have been sentenced to death in recent weeks, many of them in absentia. Hassoun was in custody and present in the court.
Some human rights groups have expressed concerns that the trials are being rushed and are potentially unfair, but the sentences have been welcomed by many Syrians who had previously expressed frustration that the new government was not moving with enough speed or strength against Assad-era figures.
Mass anti-government protests erupted in Syria in 2011 and were met by a brutal government crackdown, spiraling into a nearly 14-year civil war that left about half a million people dead and displaced more than half of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million.
The war ended with the ouster of Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024.
Syria's former grand mufti under ousted President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, stands as he listens a court sentence of life in prison at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's former grand mufti under ousted President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, sits in the defendants' cage before a court sentences him to life in prison at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Judge Fakhreddine al-Aryan, center, head of the Fourth Criminal Court, reads the ruling sentencing Syria's former grand mufti under ousted President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, to life in prison at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's former grand mufti under ousted President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, sits in the defendants' cage before a court sentences him to life in prison at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's former grand mufti under ousted President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, stands as a court sentences him to life in prison at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
