PSG’s run of wins to start the Ligue 1 season finally came to an end on Sunday night as they were pegged back twice by an energetic Bordeaux side. While the entertaining 2-2 draw served as a good advert for the league, it also offered an intriguing window into the issues that still affect PSG on and off the pitch. Despite their record-breaking pace, not all is well in Paris.

The two most curious cases are those of Edinson Cavani and Adrien Rabiot. Rabiot has shown an immature side in 2018, refusing to be placed on Didier Deschamps’ standby list for the World Cup and batting back several offers to renew his contract. With his mother acting as his agent, that side of things has long been contentious, but this latest breakdown in talks seems irretrievable. Despite coming on against Liverpool in midweek, he wasn’t even included in the squad at Bordeaux, with Marquinhos partnering Julian Draxler in central midfield.

With PSG facing eight matches in 24 days – including games against Strasbourg (who won the same fixture last season), Montpellier and, most importantly, Red Star Belgrade in the next 10 days – Thomas Tuchel would surely have wanted to rest his key players. So leaving Rabiot out completely, allegedly for “family reasons”, has been seen as a serious marker that the manager does not want him around – even if president Al-Khelaifi remains desperate to extend the player’s deal. The relationship between player and coach first soured when Tuchel left Rabiot on the bench as punishment for turning up late to a team meeting before Le Classique in October.

It is true that Tuchel has done a fine job of reinventing his midfield despite not having acquired an orthodox holding midfielder in the summer. Marquinhos was superb in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in midweek and is looking increasingly comfortable in that new role, while Julian Draxler – who was expected to leave following the signing of Neymar – has also adapted well, even if he is a bit lightweight on occasion. However, alienating Rabiot six months before his contract is due to expire seems foolish. Despite his recent strops, Rabiot is undoubtedly a talented player and he is still just 23. His sell-on value alone should make him worthy of being put in the shop window before January.

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More confounding, however, was Tuchel’s decision to leave Cavani on the bench. The Uruguayan has struggled this season after sustaining an injury at the World Cup, but he was on target against Toulouse last weekend and had scored a hat-trick against Monaco before the international break. He started against Liverpool, but was withdrawn midway through the second half for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Here, though, he was consigned to watching from the sidelines throughout. Cavani has always been a faithful servant for PSG, biding his time alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a makeshift winger in a 4-3-3, and having one player after another become the true focal point of the attack, even as he proved, in the 2016-17 season, that he was more than capable of being that leading player, scoring 35 goals in 36 matches. He will be 32 in February, but he has more than proven his worth as a striker whose dogged style makes the difference against opponents in Ligue 1 who so often try to shut up shop. His complete omission against Bordeaux – on top of Neymar and Mbappé’s ever-increasing proclivity to only pass to each other – was another sign he may be ushered out by Tuchel.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Edinson Cavani was left out against Bordeaux. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images

Bordeaux offered as much as PSG going forward, which made the match so vibrant. With Younousse Sankharé playing in an advanced role for Bordeaux, wide attackers Yann Karamoh and François Kamano were free to nip at the heels of PSG’s defence, and it was clear that their efforts, particularly in the second half, went a long way towards unsettling the leaders. Ángel Di María struck the post and the bar, but PSG only had two shots on target – their goals. On another evening, Bordeaux’s proactive and energetic approach could have easily earned them three points. Other sides should approach matches against PSG with the same verve exhibited by Bordeaux.

Ligue 1 talking points

• When Dijon and Toulouse met on Sunday lunchtime they had a combined record of no wins in 21 league games and just eight points from a possible 63, yet they put on a surprisingly enthralling show. Toulouse keeper Baptiste Reynet, who left Dijon this summer, was sent off after just four minutes when he stormed out of his area and cut down Julio Tavares. Although Dijon duly strolled into a 2-0 lead, Toulouse talisman Max Gradel was on hand to inspire an unlikely comeback. An empathic overhead kick and an assist for Aaron Leya Iseka’s equaliser showed that Toulouse would be in far greater trouble without the Ivorian. Nevertheless, the 2-2 draw did little to aid coaches Alain Casanova and Olivier Dall’oglio, who both remain under pressure as their winless runs continue.

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• Nîmes matched fellow promoted side Reims in ending the weekend inside the top half. Nîmes have reined in their gung-ho attitude of the early season, moving away from a free-wheeling 4-2-4 to a more considered 4-3-3 having gone nine games without a win, before producing a 4-0 routing of Dijon last month. Saturday’s 3-0 win over Amiens was their third victory in four matches. Europe isn’t out of the question for Bernard Blaquart’s increasingly effective outfit.

• Monaco finally squeezed out a win at Caen last weekend but, after a late collapse to Montpellier, Thierry Henry’s record as a manager now reads: one win, two draws and six defeats. Monaco deservedly took the lead against Montpellier when Youri Tielemans rounded off a swift counter just before half-time, but they were undone by some disastrous defending. Centre-back Jemerson was out-jumped by Andy Delort, who headed in the equaliser with 10 minutes to play, and then embarrassingly bamboozled by substitute Petar Skuletic for Montpellier’s winner. Overall the performance represented a slight improvement, but relegation remains a genuine possibility for Monaco.