Who could have predicted that FC Nantes would find themselves, after six days of Ligue 1, in 10th place, tied on points with Rennes? Certainly not the people of Nantes themselves, saved from relegation by miracle last year and worried about a tough schedule at the start of the season, with receptions from Monaco and Marseille and a trip to Lille.
After two days and two inaugural defeats, the season even seemed to be off to a bad start for the Nantes side, also faced with bickering between the club and its supporters, and with its coach Pierre Aristouy already called into question without having been able to put his game in place. But the draws snatched at Beaujoire against the Monegasques (3-3) then the Marseillais (1-1) bought a little time and calm for the Canaries, who were finally able to string together two victories, one of which was spectacular against Lorient ( 5-3) last week.
“Even if the last two matches gave us an interesting amount of confidence, we know where we are going,” replied Aristouy at a press conference, recalling that trips to Rennes had little success for Nantes in recent years, their last success dating back to in 2013 in what was still called the Route de Lorient stadium and not Roazhon Park.
Comforted by its flamboyant success against Metz (5-1) on the first day, Rennes for its part could have believed itself to have launched its season brilliantly. Five successive draws later, a first under the era of Bruno Genesio in Rennes, the picture appears more contrasted for Rennes who have often had difficulty breaking free offensively, even if they have still not conceded a defeat . “This is not what we wanted to do in terms of play and points,” summarizes Genesio, who would like his team “to be a little crazy when they have the ball”.
The Rouge et Noir coach, however, saw improvement in his team’s performance in Montpellier (0-0), not helped by the “potato field” on which they played. “What we lack in this type of match is the spark, the success,” he believes. A derby against Nantes, with all the emotion it brings, could be the occasion for the long-awaited breakthrough for the Rennais, who should record the return to the group of their star striker Martin Terrier, almost nine months after his serious injury. right knee injury.
“The atmosphere is different (during a derby), you can feel it in the locker room, the tension is present,” explains veteran Nemanja Matic, who at 35 had his fill of it during his time at Chelsea, Manchester United, Benfica or Roma. “In recent days, fans have stopped me in the street and told me that we have to win this match,” he smiles. This derby will, however, have one major absentee, to the great displeasure of the two coaches: the Nantes public, who through their supporters groups, announced to boycott the meeting, unhappy with the restrictions imposed by the prefecture, which did not want more than 500 Canaries supporters in the visitors’ park.
