Against a disciplined Rennes side, Les Aiglons suffered defeat at Roazhon Park this Saturday (2-0) on Matchday 18 of Ligue 1.
It was a challenging evening for Le Gym in Brittany. Facing a Stade Rennais team that has been revitalised since the arrival of Julien Stéphan at the end of November, Les Rouge et Noir saw the returns of Melvin Bard, Dante and Morgan Sanson in the starting 11. Set-up in a 4-3-3 formation with Youssouf Ndayishimiye positioned in central defence and Alexis Claude-Maurice in midfield, Francesco Farioli's men were dominated in the early stages of the match.
AN IMMENSE BULKA
Marcin Bułka kept everything away from his goal in the first half-hour. Vigilant as he punched away Benjamin Bourigeaud's powerful attempt (16'), agile in his dive to prevent Martin Terrier's well-placed shot from going in (22'), and quick to close his legs to deny Arnaud Kalimuendo's shot (24'), the Polish goalkeeper was eventually beaten when Mr. Dechepy pointed to the penalty spot. Following a handball from Pablo Rosario, Bourigeaud didn't hesitate to find the back of Nice goalkeeper's net in the 31st minute.
Les Aiglons reacted shortly after the opening goal, with a header from Laborde that was too weak to trouble Mandanda (33') and an off target attempt from Bard (41'). The start of the second half made the evening even more complicated: following a clearance from Mandanda, the residents of Roazhon Park pierced through the Nice defence, thanks to a beautiful pass from Le Fée to Kalimuendo, who came out on top in his duel against Bulka (2-0, 54').
DEBUT IN RED AND BLACK FOR CHO
Coming on just after the hour mark, Mohamed-Ali Cho worked hard to create chances: a shot on the turn (74'), a dangerous cross (83') blocked by Omari, and an attempt in the outer side netting (90+4')… Tom Louchet, Reda Belahyane, and Badredine Bouanani also brought energy and momentum to Nice in the final stretch of the match.
Carefully controlled by a confident Rennes side, the end of the match could have seen Les Aiglons narrow the gap, but neither Claude-Maurice with a shot from a close angle (62') nor Guessand with a header (81') managed to beat Steve Mandanda.
Les Rouge et Noir, assured of finishing Matchday 18 in second place in Ligue 1 despite this setback (with 35 points), will have a week to prepare for a trip to Bordeaux in the Round of 32 of the Coupe de France (Saturday 20 January, 5:30pm).
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