Thiago Silva Key to Defensive Solidity as PSG Edge Rennes with Team Performance

Paris Saint-Germain recorded a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions with a narrow 1-0 win over Stade Rennais at Parc des Princes on Friday. The result moves Laurent Blanc’s men provisionally second and just one point behind Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais and three clear of Olympique de Marseille.

It was not a classic encounter, something of a recurring theme with PSG, but the French champions got the job done.

A moment of pure magic was enough to decide the game, with Ezequiel Lavezzi putting the finishing touch on a superlative team move. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore and Adrien Rabiot all combined sensationally to provide El Pocho with a simple chance that he buried into the roof of the net.

Considering how the game had developed up until that point, the goal was not in keeping with the match. However, after it, PSG kicked on and started to look more dangerous going forward.

Edinson Cavani was wasteful in front of goal but was also denied by a brilliant Benoit Costil save in the second half, while an old favourite of Les Parisiens, Sylvain Armand, rolled back the years in the Rennes defence.

Blanc admitted that he expected more from his team when speaking with the press shortly after the final whistle.

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We would have liked to win by a wider margin. The match was in keeping with our recent outings at the Parc des Princes, with the added satisfaction of having kept a clean sheet. That's a positive and there were also some lads who really returned to form tonight. But in attack, I expect much more even though the goal we scored was spectacular. People will say that PSG aren't winning convincingly at the moment but we are just a point behind Lyon just as they head to Monaco. After that, we go head to head with the league leaders. That will be an interesting match. Even without playing at our best, Paris is still in the mix.

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However, it was the back line at the other end that made the ultimate difference in the score on the night.

Led superbly by captain Thiago Silva, who is rapidly rediscovering his best level of performance, the PSG defence were once again solid and resolute in the face of a Rennes attack led by the prodigious talent of Paul-Georges Ntep.

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Marquinhos started at right-back once again in the absence of Gregory van der Wiel and helped to solidify the rearguard. In the five matches the Brazilian has featured in since the start of 2015, Blanc’s men have kept four clean sheets and won all five of them.

David Luiz once again profited from Silva’s increasing levels of confidence and improving ability to assert his authority once more, enjoying a calm performance alongside his fellow Selecao star. The pair, when combined with Marquinhos at right-back, have looked formidable this season. A three-man central defensive unit is something that Blanc can realistically consider at some point.

Lucas Digne also showed a few flashes of promise when going forward, but the Frenchman ultimately struggled to contribute much from the left. It was a frustrating evening for him and Cavani but by no means a poor performance from the PSG No. 21.

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Blanc rang the changes before the game, opting to rest a number of important players ahead of Tuesday’s Coupe de la Ligue semi-final away at Lille OSC. The likes of Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi and Maxwell were protected, enabling the likes of Yohan Cabaye to quietly impress and Rabiot to contribute.

Few left an impression like Silva, though, who epitomised the defence’s gritty performance with a late headed clearance that put him on a collision course with a post. The Brazilian international put his body on the line to keep the ball out of Salvatore Sirigu’s goal. When he was not there, the Italian made one or two smart saves to deny the Rennes attack.

A third clean sheet in seven games rounds off an improved January for the side from the French capital. Despite the SC Bastia debacle, it has been a positive start to the new year with the gradually improving defensive performances being one of the most pleasing aspects.

Scoring a team goal of such immense quality is also a big boost, proving that the likes of Ibrahimovic and Pastore can combine to superb effect even if they are often at their best as individuals. These three points could be big come the end of the weekend, depending on how Lyon and Marseille fare in the coming days.