PSG-Rennes (1-0): Xavi Simons, not even afraid!

He left the Parc des Princes with his head down on January 31.

Xavi Simons, 18, had just missed the last shot on goal during a lost session against OGC Nice in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.

Lionel Messi's support barely made him smile again.

But despite his young age, the attacking midfielder didn't dwell on that first big career failure for too long.

Entering the game against Lille (5-1) last Sunday, the Dutchman was established by Mauricio Pochettino at the start of the 24th day against Rennes (1-0).

Sixty-six encouraging minutes for those who are promised a bright future.

"Fall, get up and, above all, learn," he wrote on his social networks, followed by nearly 4 million people already, after the elimination against Nice.

Xavi Simons applied these words to the letter.

Without any fear, the former Barcelona player showed great serenity for this first tenure in Ligue 1, the third of the season after two outings in the Coupe de France against teams from lower divisions (Feignies-Aulnoye and Vannes). .

We can even speak of a certain guts for this talented kid.

He never hesitated to seek the balls in the feet.

In the end, he hit 18 balls more than Julian Draxler (49 against 31) while the two played the same number of minutes.

This is already a first sign of confidence for the midfielder of the PSG under-19 team.

Positioned as a right winger in the 4-3-3 then the 4-2-3-1 set up by Pochettino, he was not unworthy even if his influence remained limited.

An uncertain future

From the 10th minute of play, he fired a first cross for the Parisians.

Before the break, he was the fastest to recover the ball slammed on the post by Kylian Mbappé.

With a little more technical accuracy, he could have scored his first professional goal, a few weeks after his first assist at Vannes in early January.

He could also have better negotiated a Parisian counter-attack (51st).

But he deserves the encouragement of the jury.

The public at the Parc des Princes did not hide their enthusiasm each time the blond approached the ball.

A tackle full of envy, unfairly sanctioned by the referee (30th), even triggered some public hysteria.

Proof that this kid raises many hopes in the heads of Paris.

After more than an hour of play, he gave way to Georginio Wijnaldum, who plays his place against Real Madrid this Tuesday evening.

It remains to be seen whether PSG fans will regularly see Xavi Simons on the pitch.

The Dutchman is at the end of his contract with PSG next June.

And the negotiations have not yet resulted in a new lease.