Too shy, Bretons happy with points – Dbrief and players’ NOTES (Rennes 1-1 Larnaca)
Stade Rennais finished second in Group B after a 1:1 draw with AEK Larnaca on the final day of the Europa League group stage on Thursday. Therefore, the Bretons will play in the playoffs of C3.
But Benjamin Bourijoud gave it his all.
Like AS Monaco and FC Nantes, Stade Rennais will play in the Europa League playoffs. On the last day of the group stage, Breton club met AEK Larnaca (1:1) on Thursday.
A poor result for first place, as Fenerbahce beat Dynamo Kyiv (2-0) and therefore remain at the top of Group B. In the playoff stage, the League 1 team will face Ajax Amsterdam, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Barcelona, Sporting. Portugal, RB Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Sville or Juventus Turin.
Abline launches Rennes
In a good atmosphere at Roazhon Park, the start of the game was fairly balanced by a small warning in the cage of Alemdar and Garcia’s shot was blocked at the last minute. Following a high return ball by Bourigeaud, Ablain opened the score (1-0, 17th) using a shot that the opposing goalkeeper lowered to the near post. Big mistake! To be sure, the Breton club considered doubling the stakes in the crowd by Majer, but an offside from Assignon was logically flagged.
Despite the control of the debate, Bruno Gncio’s men did not have the effectiveness in the zone of truth to make a break with the situations badly discussed by Calimuendo and Abline. Until the break, Rennes had a hard time igniting this match against the Cypriot volunteers in duels.
Harmless and punished Bretons…
Rennais came back with more attacking intent, forced to concede a goal to stay in their dream of first place. But despite the obvious desire, the French club proved too reluctant to pose a threat and the tempo quickly dropped… To wake up his team, Gnsio decided to start Doku, Gouiri, Dou and Ugochukwu within minutes. Is this enough to collect the meeting? Not really…
Still pushed on by an exemplary public, the Bretons made themselves harmless by their inability to disturb Pyrrhic. Worst of all, Renn conceded an equalizer with an early shot from Gyurcs, which was saved by Alemdar before another from Lopez (1-1, 76′). In the last minutes, the League 1 team could not attack the opponent’s cage and had to settle for a draw.
Match Score: 4/10
A disappointing meeting. Stade Rennais had all the ingredients to ignite a debate at a hot Roazhon Park, bound to score plenty of goals to keep their top-flight dream alive. However, despite the quickly noted achievement, the Bretons had great difficulty in collecting this part. Probably, the French club, tense from the challenge, played very slowly…
Objectives:
– On a high ball, Bourigeaud immediately serves Abline at the entrance of the surface. Rennes, who tried their luck by hitting the near post after the shot, took advantage of a failed intervention by Piric to open the score (1:0, 17).
– After a cross deflected by Belocian, Gyurcs also volleys alone at the far post. After Alemdar’s stoppage, Lopes followed well and tied the score with a shot (1-1, 76).
NOTES OF RENNES
Maxifoot has been awarded a rating (out of 10) that reflects the attitude of each Rennes player.
Man of the Match: Benjamin Bourijoud (6.5/10)
The Rennes midfielder, who was the captain of this match, showed the way to his team. An immediate investment, the ex-Lensois didn’t hesitate to shake up his sometimes sleepy team during defensive turns. And symbolically, Rennais held the ball high before serving Abline to open the scoring. Subsequently, he was inspired in his selections on the occasion of Assignon with excellent changes for his teammates, especially a great opener for Kalimuendo. Substitute in the 63rd minute Desir Dou (not rated).
SHEEL DEER :
Dogan Alemdar (5): the Rennes keeper had a decent match replacing Mandanda on the bench. With the exception of a minor warning early in the game for a deflected shot from Garcia, the Turk was never troubled by an uninspired attack from Larnaca in the first period. In the second half, the young player made a great save in front of Gyurcs, but was caught by Lopez’s kick in the crowd.
Lorenz Assignon (5.5): Traor, on the bench for this match, was Rennes’ right side until this European match. The young talent, who was under little threat in defense in the first round, took the opportunity to take charge of the climbs. Majer, who signaled for offside after the disallowed goal, offered many Breton solutions and created a threat in the opposing camp. He simply did not succeed as a cross from Kalimuendo, where he was too short. On the downside, he was very poor on the equalizer late in the game.
Joe Rodon (6): Overall solid match for Tottenham loanee. In Theatre’s absence, the bench centre-back assumed the role of boss in Rennes’ defensive sector. Due to its superiority in duels and in the air, it left a nice calm with good interventions on its surface.
Jeanul Belocian (5): Replacing Theate, the young talent from Rennes lived up to the trust of coach Bruno Gncio. Without exploding off the screen, Breton capitalized on the struggles of opposing forwards to force himself into rare counterattack attempts. In the second half, he was unhappy with this stray center in the movement of the equaliser.
Birger Meling (4.5): picked Truffert for this half, Rennes’ left side was less to his advantage. But the Norwegian did not need to work on defense in the first round like his partners. But in the game, despite his activity, the former Nmois was very inaccurate in his passes with many technical wastes. In the missed goal, he waited too long to make room for his opponent.
Benjamin Bourigeau (6.5): read comment above.
Lovro Majer (6): The Rennes midfielder dictated the law in midfield. With good technical ease, the Croatian international was his asset to lead the Bretons’ play. As he looked to create a break, his goal was disallowed by Assignon for logical offside. We must also mention his defensive efforts with many rebounds. Substitute in the 63rd minute Lesley Ugochukwu (no).
Flavien Tait (5): Less involved than Majer, the Rennes midfielder produced just an average copy. At times, the former Angevin, who was very mean, found it difficult to appreciate his team’s play. In fact, he was more than happy to defend the balance of the Rennais above all else. And his passes were pretty accurate.
Martin Terrier (4.5): the Rennes winger had juice on the left. On percussion, the ex-Lyon was able to make a difference. On the other hand, in the zone of truth, Breton was not always inspired by so many lost balloons. He could do better to pose a threat. Substitute in the 56th minute Jrmy Tissue (no)checks his individual efforts in general.
Matthis Abline (6): Linked up with Kalimuendo in attack, the Rennes youngster did his best to seize the opportunity. At the beginning of the game, he opened the score by using a shot from the opposing goalkeeper at the near post. Later, Breton showed great generosity and did not hesitate to take his chances without experiencing the same success. Substitute in the 56th minute Amine Gouiri (no)he was very reserved and uninspired in his rare attempts.
Arnaud Kalimuendo (4): A mixed outing for the Rennes striker. In his travels, he tried to link up with his former Parisian team-mates and was the author of a dangerous cross for Assignon, which was too short in the end. But overall, he found little in the zone of truth and was never able to trouble the opposing goalie. Substitute in the 70th minute Adrien Truffert (no).
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RENNES 1-1 AEK LARNACA (average time: 1-0) – EUROPEAN LEAGUE – Group B (Rennes) / Day 6
Stadium: Roazhon Park, Rennes – Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim, Sweden
Objectives : Mr. Abline (17th) RENNES – Rafael Lopes (76th) AEK LARNACA
Warnings :
SHEEL DEER :
AEK LARNACA :
Assignon had juice in his lane
Abline opened the score for Rennes (1-0, 17th)
Kalimuendo was struggling with weight
Lopez scores for Larnaca (1-1, 76th)
