Starting life without injured top scorer Martin Terrier – who will miss the rest of the season with an ACL rupture – in disappointing fashion, Rennes left the Stade Gabriel Montpied turf two men short as Clermont claimed a memorable win over Bruno Genesio’s crop last weekend.
Grejohn Kyei and Arnaud Kalimuendoboth found the back of the net before Benjamin Bourigeaud and Warmed Omari were given their marching orders, and Les Lanciers took advantage in the fifth minute of added time, as Johan Gastien lashed home what proved to be the all-important winner.
When it rains it pours for Les Rouges et Noir, whose Champions League destiny is now out of their own hands as they occupy fourth place in the Ligue 1 table – five points worse off than Marseille in third and only clear of fifth-placed Monaco on goal difference.
Lorient and Lille are also within touching distance of Rennes, who could soon be fighting to salvage a top-five finish let alone a place in the Champions League, having only won two of their last five matches in the French top flight.
Les Rouges et Noir have also now gone five games without a clean sheet in Ligue 1, albeit while remarkably scoring in each of their last 32 matches in the division, and they have strung together an eight-game winning streak at Roazhon Park since going down to Lorient on the opening weekend of the season.
Many a script was written for Lionel qMessiin Qatar, and the Paris Saint-Germain essayists conjured up the Argentine’s latest act in the French capital, as he found the back of the net on his first game back since fulfilling his World Cup dreams.
With final opponent Kylian Mbappe on holiday, Messi calmly slotted home to double PSG’s lead against Angers after Hugo Ekitike’s sweeping finish had broken the deadlock with five minutes gone, although the 35-year-old’s strike was initially ruled out for offside before being awarded upon review.
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Bouncing back from their 3-1 defeat to Lens in confident fashion, the reigning French champions have increased their lead over Les Sang et Or at the top of the table to six points after Franck Haise’s title hopefuls lost ground in a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg.
Defeat at the home of Lens on New Year’s Day ended a 12-game unbeaten run for PSG away from home in the French top flight, but only five goals shipped on the road is still a division low, and the closest challengers to their league-high 25 away goals are Monaco and Troyes with 19 apiece.
A strike from Mbappe gave PSG a 1-0 win over Rennes when the sides last met at the Parc des Princes in February, and while Rennes have avoided defeat in their last three meetings with the champions at home – winning 2-0 at Roazhon Park last season – the absent Terrier will still be watching on with bated breath.
