Paul Pogba Returns To Play When AS Monaco Defeats 1-4 From Rennes

Paul Pogba (Illustration: Special)

JAKARTA - Paul Pogba returned to playing competitive football for the first time after a long absence, when AS Monaco lost 1-4 to Rennes in the French League on Sunday, November 23.

Pogba appeared as a substitute in the final minutes of the match.

It was his first appearance in more than two years after his career was plagued by injury problems, doping suspensions, and extortion cases.

The 2018 World Cup winner received a warm welcome from supporters at Roazhon Park as he entered in the 85th minute and again received applause after the long whistle.

The former Manchester United midfielder failed a doping test in August 2023 after playing a match with Juventus and was given a four-year ban, which was later reduced to 18 months.

Even so, Juventus terminated his contract last November, ending his both injury-filled Turin period and other issues.

In 2024, her brother, Mathias, was sentenced to three years in prison, two of whom were suspended, due to her role in blackmailing Pogba for 13 million euros in 2022.

But the chance to save his career came from Monaco, who decided to take the risk after Pogba returned to play following the end of his suspension in March.

Monaco were careful in preparing Pogba to return to competitive matches, but coach Sebastien Pocognoli opted in when the team was four goals down and played with 10.

Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal and Mahdi Camara scored for Rennes before Denis Zakaria was shown a red card.

Breel Embolo meningkat keunggulan dan Ludovic Blas menambah gol lewat penalti, sementara Monaco mempertimbang ketelangkapan lewat Mika Biereth setelah Pogba masuk.

With that result, Monaco have now swallowed three consecutive defeats in the French League and are stuck in eighth position in the standings with 20 points.

For Rennes, this is their third straight win that puts them in fifth place with 21 points.

In another match, PSG won 3-0 at home to Le Havre thanks to goals from Lee Kang-in, Joao Neves, and Bradley Barcola.

Luis Enrique's team returned to the top of the standings and kept the difference of two points after being shifted by Marseille and Lens, who previously won 1-0 over Strasbourg.

PSG now have 30 points, while Le Havre, who has failed to win again in their last three matches, now has 14 points.

In the match played earlier, Lens won 1-0 over Strasbourg. Ismalio Ganiou scored Lens' win midway through the second half before Strasbourg's Valentin Barco was shown a red card.

Lens also ended the game with 10 players after Morgan Guilavogui was sent off in extra time.

On Saturday, Marseille crushed Nice 5-1 on Friday. Mason Greenwood scored twice to make himself the French League's top scorer with a collection of 10 goals.

The results of the French League match

- Nice 1 (Mohamed-Ali Cho 63') Marseille 5 (Pierre Emerrick Aubameyang 11', Mason Greenwood 33', 53', Timothy Weah 58', Igor Paixao 74')

- Lens 1 (Ismaelo Ganiou 69') Strasbourg 0

- Rennes 4 (Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 20', Mahdi Camara 48', Breel Embolo 73', Ludovic Blas (P) 83') AS Monaco 1 (Mika Biereth 90+5')

- PSG 3 (Lee Kang-in 29', Joao Neves 65', Bradley Barcola 87') Le Havre 0