André-Pierre Gignac was the star of the show today, as Marseille set aside in a close game at the Stade Velodrome.
A win for Marseille would take them top of the Ligue 1 table whereas a win for Rennes would continue a great run of form, coming off a shock draw last week against the champions, PSG.
The first chance of the game fell to the visitors when the on-form, Paul Georges Ntep was sent through on goal- Mandanda parried the ball out for a corner.
Ntep was to be the go-to-guy again for a Rennes goal- an impressive counter-attack found striker, Ola Toivonen in costless space, however the inexperience of Ntep shone through as he opted to shoot from distance, rather than find his team mate.
Marseille started to find their feet as the first half progressed, Gignac having his first real opportunity of the game when against the run of play Gignac found the ball at his feet- the following volley not giving Rennes' goalkeeper, Benoit Costil much bother.
The next chance for Marseille did give Costil a scare, a costless-kick from the flanks found André Ayew who manouevered into position and got a nudge on the ball from the back of his head. Luckily for Rennes, the ball went just over the bar.
The atmosphere at the Velodrome heightened as both teams slugged it out going towards the end of the second half. Abdoulaye Doucoure, got himself involved in two chances for Rennes- an acrobatic overhead kick attempt and he couldn't find himself on a low cross that was made for him.
Rennes believed they had taken the lead before the break when a costlesskick crossed into the box found Swedish international, Ola Toivonen, who notched past Mandanda. Unfortunately, the goal was chopped off for offside and the half time whistle followed soon after.
The second half is where it all began to go pear-shaped for the Breton club. The signs were shown early when a defensive mix up between Mexer and Costil had fans of the Rouge et Noir nervous. Almost right after, Marseille had taken the lead when a tight cross into the box forced an impressive volley from Gignac which whizzed into the net.
Rennes to the surprise of everyone, set out to bring the game back level and the tempo of the game increased. Doucoure, who had been unfortunate in the previous have a couple of times left it late to find Ntep who was in a great attacking position. The next chance also fell to Doucoure who was through one-on-one with Mandanda but the French international keeper stood his ground once again and parried the ball for a corner.
Mandanda's composed performance was ripped to shreds moments later when he tried to play football outside of his box. Ola Toivonen pounced on the alert Mandanda who managed to scramble the ball away. The passing from Rennes started to get more expansive and costless flowing with the hint of carefulness. The passing was interrupted by a Doucoure cross which met Toivonen but the header from him was over the bar.
The oncoming Rennes onslaught forced the hand of Marseille manager, Bielsa, as he turned the tables and set his team out to find the crucial second goal. Payet forced Costil to the ground with a decent long range effort. Bielsa's game plan worked when Gignac got his second of the game- another volley- as the second ball wasn't cleared by the Rennes defence. The bounce on the ball from the volley was enough to beat Costil at his right post.
The introduction of Rennes substitute striker, Habib Habibou, was the final throw of the dice for Rennes to get anything from the game that bizarrely was drifting away from them. The introduction of Habibou did little to increase the scoring chances for Rennes, with the the best effort being a long shot from Ntep.
Habibou got himself involved in two passages of play which showed manager, Philippe Montanier what he could do. Habibou held the ball up well and played a soft pass through to Pedro Henrique, whose shot skewed wide of the goal posts. Habibou was to try and score himself, forcing Mandanda into another great save.
Gignac showed his worth to Bielsa when he cleared a Toivonen header from a corner off the line. Gignac was everywhere by this point of the game- two goals and a goal-line clearance. As the added time was shown, veteran defender, Sylvain Armand was booked for an unneeded challenge- winning himself a yellow card and suspension for next Sunday's game against Bordeaux. It was to be ex-Rennes player, Romain Alessandrini who would take the costlesskick from twenty yards. The costlesskick was converted and his celebration was a mixture of calmness and hyperactivity, as he smacked the badge of Marseille on his shirt many times with brute force.
The whistle blew immediately after the restart. Rennes now go onto face Bordeaux without the suspended Armand whereas Marseille go top of the table, temporarily.