The Bruno Genesio revolution at Rennes has lost quite a bit of momentum in recent weeks, with Les Rouge et Noir now suffering back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Angers and Reims during an underwhelming start to the new Ligue 1 season.
With 26 minutes on the clock, teenage attacker Hugo Ekitike was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring for Reims from Ilan Kebbal’s cutback, before another 19-year-old in N’Dri Philippe Koffi burst down the left-hand side and curled in a delightful effort just eight minutes after his introduction.
Now only able to boast one win from their opening five Ligue 1 games this term, Rennes’ attempts to return to the Champions League or Europa League have already taken quite the hit, and Genesio’s side must travel to free-scoring Marseille following their clash with Spurs.
However, Les Rouge et Noir did manage to ease into the Conference League group stages with a 5-1 aggregate success over Rosenborg in the qualifying round, claiming a 2-0 win on home soil before triumphing 3-1 on the road three weeks ago.
Rennes had also strung together an eight-game unbeaten run at Roazhon Park before being sunk by Reims’ starlets, and in a Conference League group also comprising Vitesse and NS Mura, anything other than a top-two finish would spell disaster for the Ligue 1 powerhouses.
With off-the-pitch endeavours relating to the South American contingent bedevilling them, Tottenham Hotspur sought to maintain their perfect start to the season against Crystal Palace, whose new boss Patrick Vieira needed no added incentive to get one over Spurs again.
Spurs’ defensive resilience came to the fore in victories over Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford, but after Japhet Tanganga saw red, Wilfried Zaha struck the opener from the penalty spot before Odsonne Edouard’s 10-minute debut saw him bag a brace in a humbling day for the Lilywhites.
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Nuno Espirito Santo’s perfect start to life in the Premier League with Spurs was not going to last forever, and the Portuguese has already suffered one European defeat with Tottenham against Pacos de Ferreira, but the North London club ran out convincing 3-0 winners in the second leg after a 1-0 first-leg defeat to make the Conference League group stages.
After spending four consecutive seasons in the Champions League from 2016-17 to 2019-20, being knocked out of last season’s Europa League to Dinamo Zagreb in the last 16 represented quite the downturn for Spurs, whose supporters may not be all that thrilled about the prospect of third-tier European football this term.
