Troyes – Stade Rennais: Eliminated in the French Cup, Rennes sinks further
In the round of 16 of the French Cup, Rennes traveled to Troyes and lost to a Ligue 2 opponent, sinking further into crisis.
Troyes 1-0 Rennes
Without a professional number 9 in the group, Rennes traveled to a Ligue 2 resident to achieve its first victory of the year, after two defeats conceded in Ligue 1 against Nice then Marseille. Jorge Sampaoli chose to line up the two recruits Samba and Fofana, and to position Gouiri in a more central role for this meeting.
Penalty missed by Troyes, Rennes harmless
Troyes got their foot on the ball first, then after 5 minutes Rennes gradually resurfaced, but did not appear dangerous. From the 15th minute, Rennes was not far from being punished when James made a mistake at the edge of the area! The referee fortunately designated a free kick for SRFC, off-center to the left, which resulted in nothing. Following a corner, Gozzi's shot was deflected by Matusiwa. Rennes suffered at the start of the match.
On high pressure, Truffert recovered and served Fofana who tried his luck from 25m, wide (20th). Rennes tried to establish themselves in the opposing half but its offensive sterility often offered Troyes the opportunity to recover and easily push the Rennes block back, much faster than it had gone up. The sanction fell on a counter well carried out by Saïd, who shook Hateboer on the right side before striking, blocked by the hand of Ostigard (25th). The referee whistled a penalty, and Saïd… completely missed it! The ball went wide and Rennes miraculously escaped!
The reaction was timid with a raised ball concluded by a shot on target from Fofana (28th), easily captured by Lemaitre. On the counter again, Troyes worried Rennes with Saïd, whose shot missed (32nd). A rather well-constructed action led to a weak shot from Blas (34th). A possible counter came to nothing (36th), and Rennes once again showed its inability to be dangerous (38th). Again on the counter, Saïd on a counter on the right side pierced and struck, next (45 + 1st). At the end of an extremely disappointing first half, Rennes returned to the locker room with a 0-0 score, very happy not to have been punished with a penalty.
Troyes logically rewarded, Rennes logically eliminated
Returning from the locker room, Rennes struck first, on the post! Blas overflowed well to the right and found Gouiri who from the left saw his shot pushed back by the upright (47th). However, Rennes was still overwhelmed, first by Irié (54th), then by Saïd, who was finally rewarded. Gozzi on the right passed Hateboer and crossed for Saïd, who beat Samba from close range (55th). 1-0 for Troyes, logically.
Rennes reaction with a shot again, off target, again, by Gouiri (58th) on a combination with Blas on a free kick. Rennes ran at a slow trot after the score, and no offensive reached the end. Fofana and Wooh came out, and SRFC moved to 4 behind for the last quarter of an hour. Gouiri tried again, and on a good opening fell on Lemaitre who won his duel with the attacker (75th).
Rennes moved into the Trojan camp for the end of the match but remained as imprecise offensively. On each offensive, Troyes proved dangerous, like Traoré whose shot razed Samba's post (82nd). Meité and Ahamada returned and the attacker had an opportunity to head over (86th). Gouiri saw another shot blocked, Traoré on a 3 against 2 did not fit to increase the score in added time. Without soul, Rennes was unable to equalize, and was already leaving the 2024-2025 edition of the Coupe de France.
Away Rennes loses again, but this time it is an elimination against a very humiliating Ligue 2 that must be borne by the Breton club, beaten a third time in three matches in 2025, and which now only has 'a board to play on.
MATCH SHEET
ESTAC TROYES 1-0 STADE RENNAIS FC
Coupe de France – 16th final
Wednesday January 15, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
Dawn Stadium
Referee: Romain Lissorgue
Goals: Saïd (55th)
Warnings: Wooh (32nd), Gozzi (56th)
Troyes: Lemaître – Mendes, Monfray, Diaz, Gozzi – Kanté, Diop, M'Changama – Irié, De Préville (70th, Traoré), Saïd
Coach : Stéphane Dumont.
Rennes : Samba – Hateboer, Ostigard, Wooh (74th, Gomez) – Assignon, James (83rd, Ahamada), Matusiwa, Truffert – Fofana (68th, Gronbaek), Gouiri, Blas (83rd, Meité)
Coach : Jorge Sampaoli.
