Jonathan David made his LOSC Lille debut but had to settle for a point as Jonathan Bamba's first-half goal was cancelled out by Damien Da Silva to earn UEFA Champions League challengers Stade Rennais FC a point thanks to a 1-1 draw in the duo's opening game of the 2020-21 season.
Victor Osimhen, who departed for Napoli this summer, scored twice on his top-flight debut some 12 months ago to earn Lille all three points against FC Nantes; the Nigeria international's replacement, David, did not manage to find the net on his Ligue 1 Uber Eats bow, and the Canada international could not prevent his team having to settle for a share of the spoils.
Third last season and with a group stage campaign in European club football's elite competition to prepare for, Rennes came to the Stade Pierre Mauroy seeking to measure themselves against a team that featured in the UEFA Champions League in 2019-20.
Faitout Maouassa (3') and Raphinha (13') showed the visitors' attacking intentions only for their ambitions to take a major blow when right-back Sacha Boey — playing just the seventh top-flight game of his career — was dismissed for a high challenge on Reinildo (35').
Lille, who had barely threatened till then, quickly exploited their man advantage: Xeka's ball split the Rennes defence, and Bamba raced clear to finish with a firm shot across Edouard Mendy (40').
But Christophe Galtier's men saw their momentum rudely halted when Reinildo's late challenge on Raphinha earned him a red card (43') and meant both teams faced the second half with just ten men.
A Mike Maignan save from Raphinha (52') kept Lille in front and the hosts' new defender Sven Botman, picked up this summer from Ajax, cleared a Romain Del Castillo header that might have sneaked in (66').
Eduardo Camavinga came desperately close to equalising when he connected with a Del Castillo cross at close range only to stab his effort wide (69'), but Julien Stéphan's side would soon find themselves on level terms.
Teenage talent Camavinga, who has just reaffirmed his commitment to the club, got the better of both Jose Fonte and Renato Sanches to flick on a corner and Da Silva charged in at the back post to score his team's first league goal of 2020-21 (74').
On his Rennes debut following his summer move from Olympique Lyonnais, ex-Lille man Martin Terrier came close to giving his new side an opening-game win, but his shot struck a post (85') as Lille clung on to claim a point.
THE PLAYER: Eduardo Camavinga
No-one should be surprised by the 17-year-old following his performances last season, but he continues to impress. Though he only came off the bench with 26 minutes left, his arrival changed the face of Rennes, and he played a crucial role in the equaliser.
THE STAT: 12
It's 12 years since Lille received a red card on the opening day of the league season when Adil Rami was sent off against AS Nancy Lorraine at the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign.
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