Dominant but weighed down by lapses in concentration, Stade Rennais conceded its third consecutive defeat in all competitions by losing to Lorient 2-1 on Sunday for the 9th day of Ligue 1.
Beaten at Villarreal in the Europa League then at home against Paris Saint-Germain, Bruno Genesio’s men are starting this return from the international break in the worst possible way, a few days before a trip to the Greeks Panathinaikos in C3.
Having moved from 16th to 12th place in the championship, the Lorientais are offered a welcome breath of fresh air before a perilous trip to Reims and the reception of Lens.
Falling behind the Nice leader with eight points behind, Stade Rennes will have many regrets from this Breton derby, where it fell into the trap of opportunistic Merlus despite great domination.
But this match started with the handicap of a crazy goal, on a big error from Warmed Omari. After sending a cross from Tosin to his own post while Mandanda seemed in a position to intervene, the 23-year-old Rennes central defender himself pushed the ball into his net in stride (4th).
Cowering in their camp, the Lorientais then suffered far too much not to break down in the face of an increasingly well-oiled Rennes collective. A nice combination between Le Fée, Kalimuendo and Gouiri allowed Blas, served in depth, to equalize with a nice cross shot (21st).
Only a few huge saves from Mvogo (26th, 27th) saved the Merlus from sinking against the attractive Rennais and with a monopoly on the ball.
But due to another lack of individual concentration, the Red and Black were scuttled. After a header from Isaak Touré behind a cross from Abergel, a failed control from Omari, released at half-time after a nightmarish first period, gave the 2m06 giant the ball for 2-1 (45th 2).
More enterprising after returning from the locker room, Lorient almost increased the score with a strike from their nugget Eli Junior Kroupi, pushed back on his line by Mandanda (55th), decisive again a few minutes later on a header from Touré (60th).
Rennes may have pushed to equalize, but nothing worked, with good interventions from Mvogo to repel a shot from Gouiri (68th), and a goal from Yildirim refused for offside (78th).