Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converted a penalty early in the first half, his third in two matches after Marseille’s dramatic Europa League win on Thursday. The veteran striker’s goal, only his second in the league this year, would be all the hosts needed as a change of manager seems to have done little to help Rennes’ struggles on the road in Ligue 1.

Julien Stéphan had won each of his first two matches since his return to the club, beating Reims at home and Maccabi Haifa in Europe, but in match in which both sides finished with ten men, the Bretons are still looking for their first road win of the season domestically.

Rennes dominated possession, and had more chances, but losing defender Arthur Theate to an injury in the closing stages of the first half was compounded by Christopher Wooh being sent off on the hour mark.

While Marseille would also finish with ten men following Iliman Ndiaye’s red card just minutes later, between the two dismissals, midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, making a rare start in midfield, had doubled the lead.

🫶 🤍💙#OMSRFC | 2⃣ - 0⃣ | ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/6qIlS72GDw

— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) December 3, 2023

Off the back of a gruelling European encounter, and in desperate need of a win in the league, manager Gennaro Gattuso was realistic about the result meaning more than the quality of his side’s display: “What was important this evening was not the manner of the result, or playing good-looking team, but the fact of winning the match.”

Now ninth, Marseille are next in action on Wednesday as they host Olympique Lyonnais in a rescheduled match from October. Rennes have slipped into the bottom half of the table, and will have a daunting task on their hands as they ready themselves for a visit from AS Monaco on Saturday.