Bastia defeated Stade Rennais by two goals to nil, as the men from Corsica push to get out of the relegation zone. Goals from Ryad Boudebouz and captain, Yannick Cahuzac were enough to edge their side ahead.
The away side came off a shock defeat to Montpellier, after a successful eight game unbeaten run in the league, meanwhile Bastia were struggling to put together steady results.
Rennes manager, Philippe Montanier set out his team in an unusual manner with wide-man, Benjamin Andre partnering Sanjin Prcic and Anders Konradsen in midfield. Fallou Diagne, primarily a centre half, replaced a rested Romain Danze at right-back.
The travellers were to have the first sight of goal when a familiar long ball from Sylvain Armand into space found winger, Paul-Georges Ntep, who went close with his shot from an accute angle. Ntep was involved in the next promising attack when he went by Drissa Diakite with ease to cut the ball back to Andre, but unfortunately his shot was blocked by the Bastia defence.
Ntep was on the ball once more, outsmarting both Diakite and goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola, to knock the pall past them but the back-line recovered well stopping any chance of a shot on goal. The home side's first shot on goal came from a costlesskick when Mexer fouled Tallo in a dangerous area. Fortunately, Boudebouz's hit struck the wall and went out for a corner.
Rennes stopper, Benoit Costil, had to react to a tricky cross into the box aimed at Tallo. The Bastia front-man was unable to reach the ball from the left side, as it surprisingly skewed towards Costil, with the Frenchman just about able to parry it away.
Rennes were down to ten men after Fallou Diagne was dismissed for his late foul, kicking off various stoppages in the game. Both sides came to verbals after a run-of-the-mill foul got Montanier animated close by, resulting in a stoppage for several minutes as each side got heated. The tension was taken up a notch as Paul-Georges Ntep was unable to take a corner close to angry Bastia fans, who lobbed missiles at the highly rated winger. Ntep seemed affected by the chants by the minority of fans, and Christian Bruls was forced to take the set-piece instead when everything calmed down.
There was nothing in terms of a great goal scoring opportunity for Rennes, with Ola Toivonen coming close as his header met a costlesskick from outside the box that Areola easily collected. Down the other end, Costil was put to work, as he managed to keep out a Cahuzac long ranger and made a great reflex save to deny Tallo at his near post. The next save was the best of all, as Guillaume Gillet's shot from distance was palmed onto the bar by Costil. Gillet thought he had scored and momentarily celebrated but was in awe as the ball bounced back off the bar.
Gillet was to be unhappy for minutes as he celebrated his side going in front before the break. Costil had to be beaten sometime, and it was from the sweet left foot of Ryad Boudebouz. The attacking midfielder made easy work of turning away from Mexer to steady himself as he stuck a powerful drive that hit off the far post and in the net. Looking for an instant response before the whistle, Ntep once again had the beating of Diakite, this time cutting the ball to Christian Bruls who skied the ball from twelve yards.
As a whole, the second half was a boring affair with little action. The opening stages saw both teams have promising half-chances, but nobody grabbing an all important goal. Francois Kamano would have deemed himself unlucky as he got into a dangerous area to get something on a venomous ball into the box, only for the ball to hit his hand. The pressure then remained with Bastia, lobbed balls were giving the Rennes defence major problems, Boudebouz was unfortunate to have his cleared by Armand, whilst Kamano couldn't place his collection by Costil.
The best opportunity of the half to draw Rennes level when Squillaci was caught sleeping in possession at the back, substitute Habib Habibou intercepted, prompting Ntep to run along side the striker unchallenged. The final pass to the winger was dreadful, and Ntep found himself in front of Squillaci who done well to track back and block the shot.
Rennes players were punished for their slackness, as a long ball aimed at Habibou was punched clear by the goalkeeper, resulting in a counter-attack for Bastia. Kamano had a costless run at the Rennes backline as Cahuzac, like Ntep, had a costless run at goal. Unlike his opponent, the Bastia captain slotted well from just inside the box with a poweful side footed effort to Costil's bottom right.
Bastia's win saw them momentarily a point from safety, a point behind Rennes' regional rivals, Guingamp. The Rouge et Noir remain sixth, a point ahead of rivals, Nantes. Monaco can eclipse them with a win against Marseille. The next match for Rennes is against Stade de Reims meanwhile Bastia play Caen in a vital relegation clash for both sides.