A successful comeback for Lemoine

- Failure to gain leadership...
It was one of the main stakes of this confrontation between Stade Rennais and Saint-Etienne : the possibility of being leader with a victory, just like last year. At the end, failing to win, Stade Rennais have to satisfy themselves...with the fifth position in the championship.
After this eighth game week of Ligue 1, the “Rouge et Noir” lose three positions, since Paris, Lyon and Toulouse took advantage of their draw during the week-end. Now Rennes is two points behind the three leaders, one behind Montpellier and are two points ahead of Lille, their next opponent.

- Boye injured, defensive dilemmas looming:
Beyond the scoreline, this game has got some particularities in common with the last home game against Nancy. As against the team from Lorraine, Frédéric Antonetti had initially left Romain Danzé on the bench and chose Théophile-Catherine at right-back and Mavinga on the left side.
As against Nancy, The Rennes manager had to reconsider his tactics with the injury of one of his defenders. This time it’s Boye who had to left his partners, forcing Danzé to join the pitch (21’). A replacement
which caused a tactic reorganization, with “KTC” sliding to center-back alongside Kana-Biyik. This defensive line-up should be repeated next Thursday.
Next sunday in Lille, Rennes will also be without suspended Théophile-Catherine. A real dilemma for Antonetti, which could lead to Mavinga starting at center and Jebbour being given the nod as left-back against Lille.

- The comeback of Lemoine :
Fabien Lemoine was expected. Back at the “Stade de la route de Lorient” with AS Saint-Etienne, the “Fougerais” didn’t miss his reunion with his former club. Positioned higher on the pitch than when he was playing with the “Rouge et Noir”, Lemoine did an excellent job on the defensive aspect, doing wonders to disturb Rennes’ tactic, but also on the attacking side by projecting his team quickly into the opposition’s camp. A convincing performance crowned with an assist, his first of the season in Ligue 1.
At the end of the game, the midfielder took the opportunity to do round of honour, since he had not had the opportunity to say good bye to the Rennes supporters before joining the Forez.
«I was a bit disappointing to leave without the opportunity to thank the public and fans, they had supported me strongly after my accident last year», Lemoine pointed in an interview published by Ouest-france last Sunday.

- Hadji, a six-yard poacher:
The only Rennes goal scorer, Youssouf Hadji didn’t necessarily have the attacking impact that could have been expect of him, but he scored a real "six-yards poacher” goal, pushing the ball in the empty goal after a handling mistake by Ruffier.
During his three games since his comeback, the Moroccan forward succeed to give his team the lead by scoring every time. Indeed, it was the case after a deep pass in Udine, then on a penalty in Sochaux.

- The poor home run continues :
Paradoxically Stade Rennais – True, the Bretons are lethal in counter-attack - seems to be more comfortable on away games than at home this season, as the “Rouge et Noir” have difficulties to stand out in front of their public.
The three draws conceded were in fundamentally different games, with a last minute equalizer against Paris (1-1), two points stupidly lost against Nancy (1-1), and a more balanced game against Saint-Etienne (1-1). A habit that needs to be forgotten in the future, starting with Rennes’ next game in front of their home fans, against Lorient.

- Aubameyang succeeds to Feindouno :
Failing to score at the Stade de la route de Lorient since December 2005, AS Saint-Étienne has found its way back to the net to gain the point of the draw. So it’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was able to succeed to Pascal Feindouno, six years later.
The Saint-Etienne forward had already scored in Brittany though, during the 2009-2010 season. Then wearing the Lille shirt, the son of the Gabonese international Pierre Aubame had given the victory to Lille in the last minutes of the game (1-2).

- Under the Canal spotlights...
The “big game" of the eighth game week, this Rennes - Saint-Étienne had been chosen by encrypted TV channel Canal+. A highlighted underlined during the magazine “Canal Football Club” with a reportage about Jonathan Pitroipa, who continues to attract the media attention after his good beginning of the season.
While the next game at the Route de Lorient (against Lorient) will also be broadcasted by Canal, this first attempt hasn’t specially triggered enthusiasm for the viewers. With a note close to 11/20 at the end of the game, it’s not sure that the network might want to come back to the Route de Lorient to soon... unless the derby is more attractive.

- Mavinga under the threat :
While Julien Féret will miss this derby against Lorient (also read here), the man from Saint-Brieuc could be joined in this situation by three other players from the squad. In case of yellow card next Sunday in Lille, Youssouf Hadji and Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik could also be suspended against Lorient.
Chris Mavinga has joined these two players, being logically booked for a strong tackle during the second half. The left-back had already received a yellow card in Montpellier during the third game week.

- Antonetti “unhappy with the scenario” :
After the game, Frédéric Antonetti expressed regrets about the performance of his team. «I’m globally disappointed about the game and about the scenario in particular, explains the Rennes coach. We have a team who can’t keep a score-line, we need to work on that. We saw an average Rennes, the players used too many long balls, they abused of direct passing. We scored with a proper movement. After that we had opportunities to do the break but we didn’t score, and we made an error with a goal that hurt us».

- Galtier is satisfied :
In need of points before the game, AS Saint-Étienne didn’t win but managed a good draw. A result that doesn’t put an end to a run of six consecutive games without a win in Ligue 1, but which satisfies Christophe Galtier.
«The point is well earned, affirms the Saint-Etienne coach. We played against a very good and confident squad. We had to show another face than on the last games, after a disappointing home game. Players respected my orders, it’s tough to get a draw in Rennes but this time we had occasions, especially during the first half».

- Source interviews : ouest-france.fr
- photo : srfc.frenchwill.fr