Associated Press
Paris (AP) — Striker Arnaud Kalimuendo scored a hat trick and Rennes got back to winning ways in Ligue 1 by thrashing 10-man Saint-Etienne 5-0 on Saturday.
Coach Jorge Sampaoli’s first win with his new team came in his second match in charge after he took over Rennes this month.
Rennes had failed to score in more than a month and lost its three previous matches. The result lifted the hosts one point above Saint-Etienne.
The visitor made things difficult for itself when Mathieu Cafaro, who hit the post earlier, was sent off for a handball in the box in the 37th minute.
Kalimuendo put Rennes in the driving seat from the penalty spot two minutes later, and they returned to the locker room with a two-goal lead after Ludovic Blas, who was excellent throughout, found the net in added time.
Kalimuendo added another goal with a nice finish and coverted a second penalty to seal his first Ligue 1 hat trick. Amine Gouiri also scored.
“We’re not going to say that everything clicked; we’re not going to get carried away. But it’s true that it feels good to win, to score a lot of goals, and to keep a clean sheet,” Gouiri said. “However, we were helped by that red card. We need to enjoy this but not get ahead of ourselves. We have to build on the positives to keep going. It’s good for confidence.”
Leader Paris Saint-Germain met struggling Nantes at home late Saturday.
The fiery Sampaoli returned to French soccer following a previous stint with Marseille. Sampaoli was in charge of Argentina at the 2018 World Cup. He has also coached clubs in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Spain and Brazil. Sampaoli abruptly left Marseille in July 2022 after leading the team back to the Champions League, over a disagreement related to the club’s transfers of players.
Brest bounces back
The Brittany side recovered from a 3-0 loss at Barcelona in the Champions League midweek by beating Strasbourg 3-1. The result snapped a three-match losing run in Ligue 1, and moved Brest to 10th place.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
