Rennes fans must have hoped luck was on their side when Neymar and Kylian Mbappe spooned almost identical chances over the crossbar in the opening exchanges of Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
And, when Lionel Messi clattered the crossbar with a long-range free-kick moments later, Rennes boss Bruno Genesio could have been forgiven for assuming opposite number Mauricio Pochettino had taken a sledgehammer to an entire House of Mirrors before strolling under 13 ladders on his way to Roazhon Park.
There was nothing fortunate about the way Rennes took the lead, however, showing Messi, Mbappe and Neymar the way with a brilliantly constructed goal entirely against the run of play.
And no-one was surprised to see Kamaldeen Sulemana as the spark that lit the touchpaper for a 2-0 win nobody saw coming.
And according to Flemming Pedersen, his former manager at Nordsjaelland, Sulemana is a player “with potential on a par with Neymar”.
And while Neymar drew a blank at Rennes, another hot-stepping, high-kicking left winger with the number ten on his back turned on the style, whipping in an inch-perfect cross for Gaetan Laborde’s opener.
“(Sulemana) is even faster (than Neymar),” Pedersen claimed, before confirming Nordsjaelland had received approaches from at least two Premier League big-hitters before he joined Rennes.
“(Manchester) United, Liverpool and others are in the race.
“And with the personality and mentality (Sulemana) has, I will never say it will be too big a leap, for he is extraordinary.”
Liverpool target Kamaldeen Sulemana showed ‘Messi levels’ vs PSG
Rather than moving to the Premier League, Sulemana joined Rennes for a cool £13 million in June – and his decision has certainly been justified.
Because, while the 19-year-old would have had Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and more for competition in England’s north west, he has already accumulated nine games, three goals and 529 minutes of Ligue 1 action on the other side of the Channel.
That superb cross against PSG was his first assist in Rennes colours. The first of many, we presume.
Here’s what some fans on Twitter had to say about Sulemana’s performance against PSG:
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