Rennes gave no hope to Lyon tonight, crushing them 3-0 without a hitch! Between 21st and 23rd minute, the home team scored twice through Benjamin Bourigeaud and Amine Gouiri and even then secured the victory. Lyon’s display was so bad, they simply didn’t stand a chance. Henrik Meister made it 3-0 in added time. Lyon had an opportunity to return, but Steve Mandanda saved Georges Mikautadze’s penalty in the 71st minute.Already after three minutes, the home team threatened Lyon’s goal when Albert Gronbaek found Ludovic Blas, who attempted from the edge of the box – just wide of the post. In the 10th minute, the Dane tried to finish his solo effort by himself, but Lyon’s keeper Lucas Perri was careful enough. Rennes played with a lot of passion, and their pressing stunned the away team, which resulted in the lead!Nineteen minutes into the game, Benjamin Bourigeaud unleashed the effort from the edge of the box after Blas’ short pass from a free kick. The ball deflected off Lyon’s midfielder, Orel Mangala, and went past the powerless Perri – 1-0! Only two minutes later, the blitzkrieg was complete! The away team lost the ball near the box, Amine Gouiri seized the opportunity and slammed the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area, making it 2-0! Blas could’ve made it 3-0 minutes later, but Perri superbly saved his shot from the right side. After 25 minutes, the shot ratio was 8-1 to the home team. Rennes were destroying Lyon!Les Gones freed from the rivals’ pressure after the second goal but, despite controlling the situation during the remainder of the first period, couldn’t create a massive chance to reduce the gap. Having no attempt on target, Lyon’s players were getting more and more nervous, while Rennes had a fantastic result at the break.An alternative for a pricey Nigerian? His compatriot!Surprisingly, there were no changes in Lyon’s squad, as if the manager, Pierre Sage, was satisfied with his team’s performance, which was completely terrible. The away team was desperate to score, while Rennes didn’t need to rush and could wait for counterattack opportunities. Exactly after one such situation in the 55th minute, Blas had a colossal chance but was blocked at the crucial moment.Lyon had the first so-so opportunity to score in the 62nd minute through the captain Maxence Caqueret, whose strike went over the crossbar. Rennes could’ve definitely ended things 25 minutes before the end, but Gouiri’s marvellous lob hit the bar. Although it sounds odd, the Lyon boss made the first substitution after 68 minutes – Malick Fofana replaced Mangala – as if his team was in the lead all the time?!##NAJAVA_MECA_8275840##And then, three minutes later, Lyon were awarded a penalty after Lorenz Assignon’s reckless tackle, but the super-experienced Steve Mandanda superbly stopped Georges Mikautadze’s attempt! At that point, it seemed like the last Lyon’s chance was gone… Henrik Meister’s goal in the 91st minute was only the final touch on Rennes’ impressive performance and Lyon’s terrible display. Sage will have to change a lot of things and doesn’t have much time since the next round and the clash with Lens is around the corner. With a performance like this, Les Gones cannot hope for anything different than tonight. Rennes, on the other hand, await Montpellier, full of confidence. And they deserve to feel that way.LIGUE 1 – MATCHDAY 1Friday Le Havre – PSG 1-4 (0-1)/Lloris 48 – Kang-In 3, Dembele, Barcola, Kolo Muani 90 pen/Saturday Brest – Olympique Marseille 1-5 (1-3)/Camara 45+6 – Greenwood 3, 31 (pen), Henrique 26, 48 Wahi 69(pen)/Reims – Lille 0-2 (0-1)/Diakite 45+29, David 90+2/Monaco – Saint Etienne 1-0 (1-0)/Minamino 28/Sunday Auxerre – Nice 2-1 (1-1)/Raveloson 44, Coulibaly 90+5 – Cho 21/Angers – Lens 0-1 (0-1)/Said 28/Montpellier – Strasbourg 1-1 (0-0)/Savanier 67 pen – Diarra 58/Toulouse – Nantes 0-0Rennes – Olympique Lyon 3-0 (2-0)/Bourigeaud 19, Gouiri 21, Meister 90+1/
