Rennes secured a dominant away victory against Nice, winning 4-0. In other Ligue 1 action, Brest continued their winning form, while Lille were held to a draw.
Haise Returns to Haunt Nice
Franck Haise made a triumphant return to Nice, just over two months after his departure, as his Rennes side inflicted a heavy defeat on their opponents. Rennes have now won four consecutive matches and moved up to fifth place in the league standings. Despite Yehvann Diouf starting in goal and Nice goalkeeper saving a penalty from Estéban Lepaul, Nice were outplayed by a more confident Rennes team.
Lepaul opened the scoring following a cut-back from captain Valentin Rongier. Sebastian Szymanski then extended Rennes’ lead with a deflected shot, marking his first goal of the season. Morgan Sanson thought he had pulled a goal back for Nice, but it was disallowed for offside against Mohamed-Ali Cho.
Ludovic Blas then scored a solo goal, and Nordan Mukiele added a fourth to seal the victory for Rennes. The Nice supporters jeered their own team towards the end of the match.
Lille Held, Brest Win
Lille, despite being without Olivier Giroud, looked set to continue their recovery with a third consecutive 1-0 victory against Lorient. However, Arthur Avom Ebong scored a late goal to secure a draw for Lorient. Lille upped the tempo after a slow start. Aïssa Mandi cleared Avom Ebong’s shot off the line, and Gaëtan Perrin hit the post.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo eventually broke the deadlock for Lille, but Avom Ebong’s late strike ensured the points were shared. This result might not be ideal preparation for their Europa Conference League tie against Aston Villa.
Brest Continue Good Form
Brest continued their impressive form with a victory against Le Havre. Romain Del Castillo capitalised on a mistake by Le Havre’s goalkeeper Mory Diaw to score the opening goal. Ludovic Ajorque then converted a cross from Kamory Doumbia to score his fifth goal in the last six matches.
Nice have only won one of their last fifteen league matches, and their gap over Auxerre is now just five points.