Rennes stopped by its black beast

The game seemed unbalanced on paper. Sixteenth in the Ligue 1 standings before the start of the match against Stade Rennais this Sunday, Lorient was no less than thirteen points behind their host of the day. A little more than ninety minutes later, the outcome was however very different from that hoped for by the Rennes supporters who came to fill the bays of Roazhon Park, since their protégés lost to the Merlus (1-2). A setback for Julien Stéphan’s men, but a big leap forward for Lorient.

The Rennais knew, however, that there could be danger because they were facing one of their pet peeves. The last three confrontations in Ligue 1 between the two Breton teams had all been won by Lorient. In the first period, however, the locals tried. Shooting twice as much as the visitors, they however lacked precision, scoring only three shots out of their eleven attempts. As for Lorient, they did not find the target once during the first act, enough to send everyone back to the locker room with a goalless draw (0-0).

Race for a leaden Europe

Leaving the game to their opponent, Lorient nevertheless turned the match around on the hour mark, the moment chosen by the surprise gunner this season for the Merlus, Muhammad Bamba, to open the score (0-1, 59th). And if Rennes largely monopolized the ball in this second act, they were punished a second time at the dawn of stoppage time, following a counter concluded by Eli Kroupi Junior (0-2, 90th). Coming into play during the second half, Amine Gouiri immediately reduced the gap (1-2, 90th + 4). Not enough to save the furniture.

This setback weighs down Stade Rennais in its move towards European places since it remains stuck in eighth place, one point behind OM (6th), while awaiting the match between Lyon and Lens which takes place on Sunday evening. (8:45 p.m.). For Lorient, on the other hand, it is a very good operation since the Merlus abandon their place as play-offs and climb to thirteenth place, now two points ahead of Montpellier (16th).