THE MATCH

While Lyon had won at Porto in the Europa League on Wednesday, Rennes had looked out of sorts in a 2-0 defeat in Leicester 24 hours later, but ex-Lyon coach Bruno Genesio, who returned to the Groupama Stadium with his side having claimed three straight league victories, saw his team quickly resume normal service.

Peter Bosz said the 4-1 defeat at Roazhon Park earlier in the season had been his "worst memory" as Lyon boss, but the Dutchman suffered a terrible dose of deja vu as his team — who had been 4-0 down in Brittany before getting a late consolation — virtually repeated their boss' nightmare 90 minutes.

Gaëtan Laborde and Martin Terrier have clicked impressively domestically this term, and the pair teamed up to play Benjamin Bourigeaud through on Anthony Lopes, who was helpless to prevent the former Lens midfielder's shot zipping beyond him for an early opening goal (11').

Two minutes later, Rennes doubled their lead as they looked to record wins in both league fixtures in the same season against Lyon for the first time since 1965/66. Bourigeaud's corner was half-cleared by Lucas Paqueta, but the ball dropped for Baptiste Santamaria to send a half-volley — that deflected off Paqueta — past a wrong-footed Lopes (13').

Lopes leaped to his right to keep out a Jonas Martin header (20') and the Lyon 'keeper then nearly let a seemingly innocuous backpass sneak past him (41'). Perhaps because he was shaken by his first mistake, Lopes then made another, seeing his clearance intercepted by Laborde, who found Bourigeaud and he teed up Lovro Majer to finish (45+1') and make it an emphatic 3-0 after 45 minutes.

Bosz made changes at the break, but within four minutes of the restart, his team was four goals down: Majer picked out Terrier on the counter-attack, and the former Lyon forward wriggled past substitute Malo Gusto before smashing a rising shot beyond Lopes for his 14th league goal of the season (49').

Lyon looked anything like a side that had won five of their last eight league games, and only Lopes prevented Laborde adding a fifth, kicking out the former Montpellier striker's shot (53'), and he then saved from Majer (54') to keep OL from total embarrassment.

Despite the Lyon attack boasting Moussa Dembélé, Romain Faivre, Lucas Paqueta and Karl Toko Ekambi, the hosts were toothless, and it took a miscued clearance from Rennes captain Hamari Traoré to give them some sort of foothold in the game (59') and reduce their arrears to three.

Rennes 'keeper Alfred Gomis clattered into Dembélé to give Lyon a penalty that the former Celtic striker tucked away from the spot (82') to make the scoreline closer than the gulf between the two teams was on the pitch.

THE PLAYER: Benjamin Bourigeaud

The busy midfielder is an unsung hero of the Rennes season with most of the plaudits going to the high-scoring Terrier and Laborde and the more creative Majer. He allies industry and inspiration as well as a significant goal threat: he's struck six times this season with three coming in his last three outings.

THE STAT: 23

Rennes have scored 23 goals in Ligue 1 Uber Eats in 2022, the most of any team in the division.

Elsewhere, Strasbourg had enjoyed third place for all of two hours following Alexander Djiku's goal (24') that gave them a 1-0 home win over Monaco, but following Rennes' win, Julien Stéphan's men are back in fourth two points off their coach's former club. Lens' hopes of qualifying for European competition next season suffered a setback as they were held goalless at Metz. Lorient scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes to triumph 2-0 at Clermont and pick up a successive away win, a first since March 2017: Ibrahima Koné (72') and Léo Pétrot (76') with the goals. Reims' Arber Zeneli registered an assist for a third straight league game as Alexis Flips scored the only goal of the game (24') to give his side victory at Angers.  

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