At the end of a good football match, Rennes dominated Nantes (3-1) this Sunday evening at the end of the 7th day of Ligue 1. The Bretons opened the score from the start thanks to a penalty from Benjamin Bourigeaud (6th) before an equalizer from Pedro Chirivella for the Canaries at the end of the first period. Finally, the evening jokers Désiré Doué (73rd) and Arnaud Kalimunedo (90 6), again from the penalty spot, sealed the fate of this Western derby. Stade Rennais returns to the top 6 while FC Nantes is positioned in the second half of the table.
Tied in the standings before the match, Rennais and Nantais went blow for blow during a very rhythmic first act. In front of their home crowd at Roazhon Park, Bruno Genesio’s men couldn’t have dreamed of a better start when Moutoussamy brought down Assignon in his area. Logical penalty transformed by captain Bourigeaud, in front of his very noisy kop (5th). Carried by a very valuable Matic in the midfield, Stade Rennais could have quickly pushed through its enemy from the West, but Gouiri came up against Lafont (14th) and Blas’s beautiful shot did not find the top corner (16th) . Opposite, the jostled but incisive Nantais threatened Mandanda in rapid attack thanks in particular to Mollet (13th, 28th), very active in his role as number 10. Rennes still kept control of the ball and remained dangerous with Bourigeaud’s long shots (27th, 33rd). Turkish recruit Yildirim even thought he had obtained a second penalty when he came into contact with Lafont, but he was offside at the start of the action (39th). A scare without consequence for the Canaries who finally took advantage of Rennes’ decompression to get back into the game. Mandanda won in front of Simon (42nd) but dared to make a dangerous restart on Omari, guilty of a fatal loss of the ball benefiting Chirivella. The captain of the Yellow and Green equalized just before the break and reignited the suspense of a derby that became increasingly tense as the minutes passed.
In the second half, the duels increased in intensity in the absence of clear chances even if Rennes tried through Gouiri (52nd), Yildirim (55th) and Theate (65th). Pushing for victory, the Bretons for a long time stumbled against the well-organized Nantais who gradually lost control. Moutoussamy, Augusto and Mohamed received avoidable yellow cards in quick succession while the locals remained patient in the build-up of the game. And finally, salvation came from the Rennes bench. Having entered for four minutes, the young Désiré Doué, well served by Truffert, deceived Lafont (74th) to explode Roazhon Park, suspended for a few seconds on the VAR decision. There was time for the Canaries to react, even after the expulsion of their scorer Mohamed (77th), author of a protest that was far too vehement in the eyes of Ruddy Buquet. The draw point, 2-2, went to Moussa Sissoko, also a substitute at kick-off, but his shot into the area flew into the stands (91st). Rather calm, Rennes, taking advantage of the spaces on the counter, allowed themselves the goal of the break on a 2nd penalty obtained this time by Désiré’s older brother, Guela Doué. Back on the pitch after a month of absence, Kalimuendo opened his account this season by deceiving Lafont (96th), ensuring the success of his team after five consecutive draws in Ligue 1.
Thanks to this deserved success in this 100th Western derby, Stade Rennais (11 points) is 6th in the championship before returning to Europe and Villarreal on Thursday. FC Nantes, valiant but unfortunate, remains 13th, three lengths behind its historic rival.