A brave 10-man Lille side managed to hang on by the skin of their teeth to stop Stade Rennais from jumping to the top of Ligue 1 this evening.
Lille's Sofiane Boufal put his side ahead early in the second-half but the leaders went down to ten men and Rennes took advantage by levelling through Paul-Georges Ntep.
Rennes went into the fixture with justified confidence
Before the match, all eyes were on the Ligue 1 table and Rennes' impressive position on it - a win against Lille would have had the Bretons temporarily top of the pack. Lille haven't got off to the best of starts, drawing three of their previous four games.
Lille arguably dominated the first-half and certainly the possession stats as they fluttered between the 53-57% mark throughout. The first promising chance came the way of LOSC with the lively Boufal forcing Abdoulaye Diallo to make a cautious save with his legs.
Lille though, dominated proceedings in the early going
Rennes were struggling to get the ball away from their half for large periods of the first half. One ray of hope for a surprise lead fell the way of top scorer Giovanni Sio. The Ivory Coast striker got into an excellent area to score but his shot dragged wide of the far right post.
The element of surprise repeated itself soon after when Lille's Éric Bauthéac hit the crossbar from his powerful free-kick. The well-placed Rennes wall could do nothing to stop the shot and Diallo was beaten all ends up as he watched the ball hit his woodwork.
Before the break, Lille had another perfect opportunity to score the first goal of the game. Following a Barcelona-esque passing move, Junior Tallo shrugged off his marker Mexer deep inside the box but his shot scooped wide of the target.
At the interval, it was somehow goal-less
The second-half started as the first one ended with Lille on top and pushing for a goal. Right from the off, skipper Rio Mavuba forced Diallo once again to react quick and get down to hold his shot from distance.
Quickly after, and unsurprisingly, Lille went in front - putting any Rennes first place party plans in jeopardy. The goal came the way of Boufal who cottoned onto a dangerous low cross into the box, rushed in and side footed a shot accurately by Diallo's near post.
The Rennes fans stood defiant, urging their team even louder to turn the game around. More offensive changes from the manager, Philippe Montanier, were made as Grosicki and Henrique replaced Mehdi Zeffane and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Rennes fans were arguably happy to see the latter two depart as they put in uninspiring performances.
Drama ensued as visitors down to ten men
Strangely enough, it was a player who had been on the full game that brought the biggest impact for the losing Rennes side. Giovanni Sio was brought down in the box by Lille keeper, Vincent Enyeama. He was ordered off by the referee and awarded Rennes a penalty. After a lengthy delay due to petty spats and substitutions, Ntep stepped up and was denied a goal by substitute goalkeeper, Mike Maignan.
All was not lost however for Rennes as Ntep did put the ball in the net a minute later - and from much closer than the 12 yards he missed from. Following a quick attacking move, Sio placed a perfect ball towards the far corner of the goal and Ntep managed to tap the ball in from a yard to make sure of the equaliser.
Fearing a complete disaster Lille manager, Hervé Renard, went more defensive, taking off his impressive attacking players and trying to shut up shop. The ten men proved to be a sturdy outfit and took full advantage of any potential stoppages or time wasting opportunities. Five minutes of added time were played out but only 90 seconds of it was actual football due to even more stoppages, injuries and arguments.
For the time being, Rennes remain in second place meanwhile Lille are in 10th. Another draw for the visitors implies that a win sometime soon may be needed to cement any possible challenge for a European spot. Rennes drawing, although stopping them from going first, means another game undefeated and with a few tactics and players tinkered, this run may continue.
Next week Rennes travel to Gazélec Ajaccio whereas Lille are away to Stade de Reims.