A miraculous 10 man performance from Bastia helped them defeat Stade Rennais in another entertaining encounter between the two sides.
Former Rennes man, Gaël Danic, scored an impressive long range effort in the second half- punishing Rennes who dominated the game and never took their chances.
Talk before the game was about Rennes captain and veteran right-back, Romain Danze, who was set to make his 300th appearence. The man of the moment surprisingly never made the starting 11, as manager Philippe Montanier opted to play Steven Moreira instead.
The start of the first half was a more equal affair. The away side had the first shot at goal as Giovanni Sio tested Rennes keeper, Benoit Costil. At the other end, Bastia stopper, Alphonse Areola, denied Cheikh M'Bengue from close range.
The next Rennes chance fell to the goal shy Abdoulaye Doucoure who couldn't convert from the centre of the box. The midfielder smacked his shot off the ground and the ball bounced wide of the target.
What followed was quite spectacular. Another Rennes attack had Ola Toivonen calmly chip over Areola only for the ball to be cleared off the line by the defender. From the rebound, Doucoure had his powerful strike saved on the line by Peybernes who appeared to use his arm to stop it. Unfortunately for Rennes, no penalty was awarded- furthermore, replays following the goal showed Toivonen's shot over the line.
The match soon lived up to previous encounters as the two teams were embroiled in a scrap near the middle of the pitch. Following a collision between Doucoure and Cahuzac, tempers rose and both men were booked. Gelson Fernandes also saw yellow for his involvemnent in the afters.
Rennes continued to push for goal through Kamil Grosicki. The Polish winger rose high to head the ball which whistled by the post.
Before the half time whistle, Bastia were reduced to 10 men. François Kamano was given marching orders by the referee after the 19 year old received two yellow cards.
Rennes started on the front foot in the second half with Doucoure involed in two failed attacking moves from the off.
The Bretons were then given a scare as their ex player, Gaël Danic, worked Costil from a long range free kick.
Rennes continued to attack yet couldn't find the back of the net no matter what they threw at Bastia. Ola Toivonen brought out a wonder save from Areola from close range and the follow up had Grosicki hitting the post from an acute angle inside the six yard box.
Danze got the fans cheering and off their seats when he replaced Steven Moreira to make his 300th appearence for his club. The ultras produced a banner the length of their stand proclaiming 'Danze: A jamais dans l'histoire du SRFC'. This translates to 'Danze: Forever in the history of SRFC (Stade Rennais Football Club).
After countless chances going missing for Rennes, they were eventually awarded a penalty after Gillet used his hand to stop an M'Bengue cross in the box. Paul-Georges Ntep took the penalty which was saved by Areola. The winger's run up coupled with the hit being the correct height for the keeper resulted in the stop.
Another Rennes onslaught meant more disappointment for Les Rouges et Noirs. Kamil Grosicki set up with Toivonen who smacked the post from inside the six yard box.
From out of nowhere there was disaster for the home side. Danic picked the ball up and zipped inside and produced a daisy cutter which went by Costil at his left post. The goal left the Route de Lorient stunned as Rennes were ultimately punished.
The last chance was for Ola Toivonen to return the game back to a level footing. The Swede leapt like a salmon but predictably couldn't notch home.
The result ended Rennes' six game unbeaten run and the pressure on manager, Philippe Montainer grows. The Bastia win virtually secures them safety in Ligue 1 and ponder how they achieved all three points.
Bastia's next game is at home to Caen, meanwhile Rennes travel to Reims who are also in the relegation battle.