Stade Rennais entered this season with a familiar sense of promise. Perhaps that should have been taken as the first warning sign that things were not going to go according to plan. After all, promise has so often turned to disappointment in recent seasons. But there were reasons to think it was all going to be different, to believe that Rennes were in pole position to become the best of the rest in Ligue 1. 

Unlike so many other teams across France’s top flight, Rennes had a sense of continuity coming into this season. They were one of just six teams to keep hold of their head coach from the previous campaign, with Franck Haise remaining in charge. The squad also largely remained intact, with Liverpool-bound Jérémy Jacquet representing the biggest departure (albeit one that had been known well in advance and a player who had spent months out injured). 

Rennes kept hold of prodigious talent like Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal despite reported interest from the Premier League, and perhaps most importantly retained Esteban Lepaul, hot off a golden-boot-winning season. They bolstered a squad that had clinched a spot in the UEFA Europa League, courtesy of a sixth-place finish, with proven Ligue 1 talent, with Charlie Cresswell and Adrien Thomasson arriving from Toulouse FC and RC Lens, respectively. 

 Strong start masks rocky road for Rennes

The season started well with a 2-2 draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain (although Rennes will contest that this should still be considered an away game as scheduled). This was then followed up with three wins in a row as they dispatched Le Mans FC, Angers SCO, and Olympique de Marseille. There was a sense that after so many false dawns, Rennes were not just second best on paper, but on the pitch. 

However, since then, the wheels have somewhat come off. After ten games in Ligue 1, Rennes have amassed a record of five wins, one draw, and four defeats, and will enter the international break sitting in eighth. For a team that wanted to dream big, there’s a worrying sense that they have regressed since last season. 

Quite simply, the defence has been alarmingly porous. Rennes have only two clean sheets to their name in the league and have conceded 21 goals. Only three teams have a worse defensive record: Le Havre AC, RC Strasbourg Alsace, and AJ Auxerre. Not exactly good company to keep, as all three have legitimate relegation concerns. 

Lepaul’s Midas touch 

On Sunday afternoon, Haise trialled a new formation against Lille OSC. Instead of the 4-3-3 shape that has become the custom for Les Rouge et Noirs under the former Lens head coach, Rennes were deployed in a 3-5-2 – something more akin to what we would have seen during his time at Lens and later at OGC Nice. Despite the change, the same problems emerged for Rennes as they conceded two of the three shots Lille had on target to lose 2-1. 

What has bailed Rennes out of trouble on multiple occasions this season has been the strength of their attack, which has scored 22 in the league, the joint-best alongside PSG. In particular, Rennes have been able to rely on Lepaul when fit, who has not lost his Midas touch. The France international has scored seven in seven Ligue 1 matches. However, an ankle sprain has kept him out of the last three league games, and without him leading the line, reliance has come to look a little bit like overreliance. 

A Lepaul-less attack wouldn’t be enough to rescue a point against Lille. Instead, they were forced to watch Davide Ancelotti’s Les Dogues celebrate another weekend they would end sitting in second. The position Rennes had hoped and perhaps expected would be theirs for the taking this season.

This week’s Ligue 1 subplots

• The pressure was kept on Yannick Cahuzac’s fledgling career as a head coach as he watched his Lens side slip to a 2-1 defeat at home to Olympique de Marseille. This perhaps would have been fine on its own, but the context of the humiliating midweek 9-1 defeat in Europe hung over him. Questions are surely being asked of the first-time coach, despite his internal promotion and close friendship with the sporting director.
• Strasbourg look to be in trouble. Under BlueCo’s ownership, the club have flirted with Europe, but are currently experiencing something very different. A few choice victories have kept them in mid-table, but form and expected points suggest that they’re sleepwalking into trouble. Read how they got on over the weekend HERE.

• PSG expected to romp to their 11th win in a row across all competitions when they hosted newly promoted ESTAC Troyes. Instead, they were forced to work for their narrow win. Illia Zabarnyi’s first-half header proved the decider. Read all about it HERE.