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Paris Saint-Germain went into their Ligue 1 match against Rennes knowing they had to manage their squad carefully.

With a comfortable lead at the top of the table and a massive Champions League return leg against Liverpool coming up, head coach Luis Enrique had a big decision to make.

Should he rest his key players or keep momentum going?

He chose to rotate heavily.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Ousmane Dembele were all benched.

In a surprising move, 19-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery was given the captain’s armband and played at right-back.

It was a test of PSG’s squad depth, and Liverpool would have been watching closely.

Despite the changes, PSG showed their quality with a 4-1 win over Rennes.

Liverpool on the other hand in their game against Southampton were 3-1 winners after two well taken penalties from Mohamed Salah and a clean finish from Darwin Nunez helped the Reds extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 16 points.

Joao Neves controlled the midfield, and Bradley Barcola opened the scoring after a clever pass from Desire Doue.

Goncalo Ramos made it 2-0 early in the second half, finishing off another Barcola assist.

Rennes fought back, with Lilian Brassier scoring from a corner to make it 2-1.

For a moment, it looked like they could push PSG to the limit.

But Ousmane Dembele, who started on the bench, put the game to bed.

After missing a big chance, he responded with a “quickfire double during injury time”, sealing the result.

It was a strong performance from PSG before their trip to Anfield.

Luis Enrique’s rotation kept key players fresh, and Dembélé’s goals gave him a “welcome confidence boost before Tuesday’s Anfield showdown in the Champions League.”

Liverpool will have taken note.

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