Stade Rennais defeated derby rivals FC Nantes by two goals to nil, as the winners shot up to second in Ligue 1 as the weekend draws to a close. Paul-Georges Ntep and Giovanni Sio were the two scorers and took full advantage of their opponents going down to nine men.
The two teams were without their first-choice goalkeepers. In came Abdoulaye Diallo was recalled from his loan at Le Havre for Rennes, whereas Nantes deputy Maxime Dupé captained his side. Suspended for Rennes were Pedro Henrique and Gelson Fernandes, whilst their new signing Juan Fernando Quintero did not make the matchday squad.
Rennes started brightly
Rennes started the match brightly, putting their rivals under some early pressure and comfortably clearing away any danger at the back. Nantes' goalkeeper got off to a shaky start when Ntep's powerful free-kick was parried out into a dangerous area and was eventually cleared. At the other end, it was Diallo who made a similar uncomfortable stop from a long-range effort, which trickled out for a corner-kick.
However, the best opportunity of the half fell for Sio. He nipped in-front of his marker inside the area, to meet a low cross - but was unable to turn his shot on-target.
Nantes struggled to create many chances
Nantes simply weren't doing enough to threaten up-top and had to result to trying efforts from outside of the area. Emiliano Sala managed to hit the outside of the post from an acute angle but was never a threat to Diallo.
The first piece of real derby controversy came soon after though, when Rennes were denied a penalty-kick. Breaking down the left wing, Ntep burst into the box and went to ground after coming into contact with his marker. The referee waved play on, leaving Ntep and the Rennes faithful stunned.
At the beginning of the second-half, an instant lead for Rennes was on the cards. Unfortunately for the visitors, Ntep completely missed the ball in the box, resulting in a fresh air shot. The derby feeling, although late, came with a bang when Adryan was sent off six minutes into the half. After a missed attempt to take the ball from Mexer, Adryan stupidly made another late challenge leaving his target grounded.
Rennes tried to take advantage of their extra man immediately. Sylvain Armand spotted a darting run from Sio into the box, but the Ivory Coast international scuffed his first-time effort.
The victim became the perpetrator when Mexer was lucky not to have seen red. The centre-back sloppily lost the ball and pulled back Sala, who was going to break free and rush into the box. Luckily for the defender, the contact was outside the box - only resulting in a booking.
Eventually Rennes did take their advantage and went a goal ahead. After a shot onslaught on goal, Nantes couldn't clear and Ntep slided the ball into the goal. The scorer celebrated by aggravating the Nantes fans before meeting his team-mates as they celebrated with the fans.
Nantes tried to respond to going to quickly and almost did so through substitute, Alejandro Bedoya. The American rose above everyone else near the six-yard box and directed a powerful header at goal. This forced Diallo to use all his strength to hold the ball cleanly to stop the chance.
Things got bad to worse for Nantes when they went down to nine men following the dismissal of Kolbeinn Sigþórsson. The Icelandic international put in a late challenge on substitute, Mehdi Zeffane, forcing the referee to go to his back pocket.
Rennes were predictably two in front minutes later after Sio scored his fourth of the season. It was an easy job for Sio as he strolled up to face Dupé to slide the ball to the far right corner.
The win put Rennes second place in Ligue 1, one put off leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Nantes undone their positive start to the season and are 10th place. Next week Rennes host Lille, while Nantes travel to Saint Etienne.