Lille maintained their 50 year unbeaten run at home against Rennes after a late Eder equaliser secured a point at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Eder scored Lille's equaliser. | Photo: Getty Images
Eder scored Lille's equaliser. | Photo: Getty Images

After missing a penalty early in the match, Lille went a goal down on 22 minutes when Paul-Georges Ntep put the visitors in front.

Rennes went into the game following three consecutive defeats which included a 7-0 thrashing away at AS Monaco in the Coupe de la Ligue

Meanwhile, Lille were somewhat on-form following three wins in their last four matches in Ligue 1. 

A more familiar line-up started the match for Rennes, while Lille are a team currently in limbo with this match expected to be the interim manager's last due to a change of ownership in January.

Lille punished for not taking vital chance

The first half started as a slow burner as both teams tried to find their feet in the opening proceedings.

A Rennes penalty claim was waved away by referee Jérôme Miguelgorry, but only a few minutes later he was pointing to the spot at the other end of the field.

Trickery from Naim Sliti fooled Romain Danzé into barging him over in the box which resulted in the penalty much to the bemusement of the Rennes captain.

Portuguese World Cup winner Eder was tasked with taking the spot kick but was denied by Benoit Costil who guessed correctly to his right to parry the shot out of danger. 

Following the miss, Rennes started turning the screw on Lille and more chances started to appear for the travelling Bretons.

Christian Gourcuff's men went duly in front thanks to Ntep who popped up at the back post to head into the far corner of the net.

It was an unfamiliar goal for 5ft 9in Ntep who took his goal tally to two for this season.

Spirited Lille rewarded for better second half performance 

A much stronger Lille performance was to be had in the second period as they caused several problems for Rennes who appeared happy to sit back and soak up pressure.

The best chance of the game for Lille at that time fell to Julian Palmieri whose lung-bursting run to finish inside the box went unchallenged, but the resulting shot was poorly executed. 

Rennes gave youth a chance in the midfield as the clock ran down with Adrien Hunou and Adama Diakhaby both coming on.

Entering the last 10 minutes of the game, Lille stepped up their level a couple of gears and the equaliser was always coming.

Then, with a bit of luck, in the 89th minute, a shot from outside of the box was blocked 12 yards from goal by Eder who managed to compose himself and finish himself.

The calls for offside by Rennes were feeble and fell on deaf ears as replays showed the scorer at least a yard onside. 

If this was to be Patrick Collot's last game in charge, then at least he signed out on small high thanks to the lateness of the equaliser.

For Rennes, it's now four games in all competitions without a win as pressure mounts on manager Christian Gourcuff.

Next up in a month's time is a Brittany Derby away to Guingamp for Rennes, while Lille have to contend with a tough tie against Saint-Etienne.

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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]