Stade Rennais moved up to third place in the Ligue 1 table after dismantling the feeble Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.

The visitors went three nil up in 14 minutes after the hosts were met with a chorus of boos upon entering the field. Florian Thauvin brought one back for Marseille to end the first half scoring.

The under fire southerners thought they were right back in the game when Rennes keeper Benoit Costil gifted Jorge Rolando the opportunity to bring the deficit down to one goal. However, Rolland Courbis' men showed strong character to end on top and notch another two.

The two goalkeepers in the match were both selected into the French team for the next international matches. However, national coach Didier Deschamps will not be happy at all with how his second and third keepers performed. 

Dreamland for Rennes, hell for Marseille

Four minutes into the match and the high-flying Rennes went a goal in front thanks to the veteran Yoann Gourcuff - his first goal for the club in exactly 10 years. It took two attempts from him, and one from Gelson Fernandes, to score it. His low diving header at the third time of asking sent Steve Mandanda the wrong way.

Five minutes later saw Rennes double their lead through defender Fallou Diagne. In a familiar move off the training pitch, Grosicki's delayed cross found the centre-back at the far post and headed past Mandanda. The goal was Diagne's second in a week following his goal against Lyon last Sunday.

On 14 minutes Rennes had increased their lead to three goals with man of the moment Ousmane Dembele scoring. The reported Barcelona target was allowed to saunter down the middle of the pitch and have his following shot deflect into the net.

The enraged Marseille fans had a momentary period of silence when Thauvin scored on 20 minutes. The scorer was virtually unchallenged at the side of the box and unleashed a world class curling effort which nestled into the top left corner.

Then followed a spell of Marseille dominance, Michel's men looked re-energised with that goal and were unlucky not be level before the break. Michy Batshuayi and Remy Cabella went close and were unlucky not to get their names on the score sheet.

Marseille restart strong but lose their new found edge

Five minutes into the second half and it looked like Marseille had flipped the game well and truly in their favour by pulling another goal back. An absolute gift however as Costil spilled a corner into the feet of Rolando who couldn't miss the open net from three yards. 

Rolland Courbis' men were not going to let their lead and dominance diminish without a fight. They soon restored their advantage to two goals when Gourcuff converted his second of the evening. Just like Dembele previously, the ex-French international was allowed time and space down the middle to shoot by Mandanda. The goalkeeper was arguably at fault for misjudging the flight of the ball.

Mandanda did redeem himself not long after as his fingertip was the difference between Giovanni Sio and his first of the night. 

Nevertheless, Sio did manage to beat his marker between the posts, eventually, to score his first goal in weeks. Dembele was the architect in the scoring move which saw him advance down the right and pick out the Ivorian in the centre. The striker steadied himself and slotted away with his right foot to find the bottom corner. 

The win temporarily places the Bretons in third place on the Ligue 1 table - just four points off Monaco in second. Marseille will be ever closer to the relegation spot after this weekend's matches have played out. Manager, Michel, will take his squad next week to Bastia in what'll be another tough match. Rennes have arguably an easier fixture as they face Reims who are also staring Ligue 2 in the face.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Connor Gordon
Hi, I am from Glasgow, Scotland and at university studying Multimedia Journalism. I have a fondness for French club, Stade Rennais. I try to convey the way I see the game of football into my articles. I hope you enjoy! Contact me on Twitter: @ConnorGordonnn Email: [email protected]