Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 25, 08/03/26
Franck Haise and OGC Nice crossed paths once more as his Stade Rennais side comfortably swatted aside a club whose relegation fears deepen (0-4).
By half-time, Rennes were cruising but they should have been out of sight. The visitors were clinical in the opening stages. Esteban Lepaul finished a Valentin Rongier cutback first time, blasting into the roof of Yehvann Diouf’s net.
The second was somewhat fortuitous, even if Nice’s defensive disorganisation deserved to be punished. With acres of space, Moussa Al-Taamari found Sébastien Szymanski, whose shot deflected off Juma Bah and past Yehvann Diouf. A nightmare return for the Senegal international, who reclaimed the No.1 jersey on the occasion.
Arnaud Nordin caused Jonathan Clauss plenty of problems down Rennes’ left and he dragged a shot wide and he should have done much better moments later, but with the whole goal to aim at, he slipped. From that same action, Nice had the ball in the net thanks to a Morgan Sanson, only for the strike to be ruled out for offside. A rare moment of optimism on a bleak afternoon for Le Gym.
Rennes should have made it three, but Lepaul missed from the spot. Al-Taamari put home the rebound, but had encroached to do so. It was a question of controlling the game in the second half, and despite two half-time changes designed to give Nice a fresh impetus, Brice Samba was never tested, even if Kail Boudache did flick the top of the crossbar with an acrobatic effort.
And despite being in management mode, Les Rennais got a third, with Ludovic Blas given the freedom of Allianz Riviera, dribbling from the halfway line to inside Nice’s box, before putting his shot back across Diouf. Nordan Mukiele then completed the rout, curling excellently into the far corner from outside the box. The home fans weren’t given anything to shout about on the night, so they allowed themselves to celebrate the final blow in a one-way fight.
Yehvann Diouf – 4
Melvin Bard – 3
Kojo Peprah Oppong – N/A
Replaced by Dante (4).
Juma Bah – 2
His loan spell from Manchester City will have been disastrous almost from start to finish. He was too far away from Szymanski on Rennes’ second goal, and he almost offered the visitors a third in the first half with his atricious underhit pass back to Diouf.
Jonathan Clauss – 3
Charles Vanhoutte – 4
Hicham Boudaoui – 2
Replaced by Kevin Carlos (2) at half-time. You could have forgotten that he was on the pitch, and the only times he reminded you that he was were when he misplaced a pass. As for Kevin Carlos, different game, same story.
Tom Louchet – 3
Morgan Sanson – 5
Mohamed-Ali Cho – 3
Replaced by Kail Boudache (4) at half-time. He had a couple of bright moments but it is hard for any player to shine in this mess, nevermind a player so young and inexperienced.
Sofiane Diop – 4
Brice Samba – 5
Quentin Merlin – 5
Lilian Brassier – 6
Anthony Rouault – 6
Mahamadou Nagida – 6
Valentin Rongier – 8
Marseille’s decision to let Rongier go always looked questionable and these kinds of performances, with such poise and maturity, further call into question the wisdom of the higher-ups at the Vélodrome. Be it his ability to open the game up or win the ball back for his side, it felt as though Rongier was at the heart of everything for Rennes.
Mahdi Camara – 6
Arnaud Nordin – 7
Sébastien Szymanski – 7
Moussa Al-Taamari – 6
Wasteful at times, frustrating, too, but always probing, providing an option and threatening the Nice defence. He will rue some of his execution but nonetheless provided an assist.
Esteban Lepaul – 6
