Philippe Montanier: 'Rennes were courageous'

Rennes boss Philippe Montanier has praised the courage of his team after they were narrowly beaten by champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Stade had kept PSG at bay for long periods, but were finally beaten by Les Parisiens, thanks to a strike from Angel di Maria.

However, Montanier has conceded that his side were second best against Laurent Blanc's side for much of the game.

"Paris dominated. We were courageous, we put in a lot of effort. The feeling I have is that we ran a lot and put in a lot of effort to get the ball back, to go forward," Montanier told reporters.

"We also lacked the technical quality required to see our ideas through. The regret is that we weren't able to push them harder. I think the players did what had to be done in terms of effort and intensity.

"But Paris are technical, powerful. Of course, if you put all that together, they're difficult opponents."

Rennes are currently seventh in Ligue 1.