Paris Saint-Germain shifted their Ligue 1 season opener against Stade Rennais from their home ground, Parc des Princes, to Rennes' Roazhon Park on August 23 due to extreme heat damage to the pitch [1, 2, 3]. The pitch was deemed unsafe following July’s record-breaking summer heat in France, which caused significant damage, aggravated by the stadium’s concrete structure that prevented proper grass growth [1, 2, 3].

PSG informed the French professional league (LFP) on August 17 about the unusable pitch condition. The LFP inspected the field two days later and confirmed it was unfit for play [1, 2, 3]. PSG explored other Paris venues such as Stade Jean-Bouin, Stade Sébastien-Charléty, and Stade de France but ultimately settled on Rennes' stadium, with Stade Rennais agreeing to accommodate the match [2]. PSG thanked Rennes for the arrangement [2].

PSG coach Luis Enrique acknowledged the challenges posed by the pitch and venue switch. He said, "We like to play attacking, entertaining football, for which you need a pitch in the best possible condition, which isn’t the case at the moment" [4]. He added, "We’ve been training as usual... but playing in Rennes is different; we have to adapt... these are things I can’t control, so we have to see it as a challenge" [5].

The August 23 match saw PSG trailing 2-0 at halftime but rallying to draw 2-2 by full time. Ferran Torres, who came on as a halftime substitute, scored both goals. Enrique made tactical changes at halftime, substituting Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for Mika Godts and Torres [6, 7]. After the game, Enrique stressed the need for constant effort, saying, "Football is like that. Paris Saint-Germain have won nothing, nothing. If you think about what you've won, you're not going to win anything! There is no credit. You have to show every day, every match, every training session, that you're ready" and "We are always looking to win, and to keep winning, you have to step outside your comfort zone. Is that clear?" [7].

PSG plans to replace the Parc des Princes pitch in time for their next home match on September 4 against AS Monaco [2, 4].