Having started the season well below expectations, Stade Rennais suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat against Auxerre this Sunday. The fifth after 10 days of Ligue 1, which could be the last for Julien Stéphan, already threatened since the start of the week.
At Abbé-Deschamps, Rennes had to react… but ultimately foundered. After a very complex start to the season, the Breton club is only in 13th place in Ligue 1, with only three victories. If the last one, against Le Havre, last weekend, did not really give satisfaction in the game, this Sunday's match is clear with a 4-0 slap at AJA.
Against the promoted Auxerre, the Rennais showed nothing, worse, they conceded a heavy 2-0 at the break, after Gaëtan Perrin's double. In the second half, the Rouge et Noir initially thought they could reduce the score, but Mikatil Faye, recruited this summer from Barcelona, surrounded his opponent. The goal is cancelled. And as a symbol, it is Auxerre who obtains a penalty, which Lassine Sinayoko transforms. Plunging Rennes a little further into trouble, which even conceded a final goal by Ado Unaiwu, in the last moments. While Abbé-Deschamps exults, Rennes looks grim.
Julien Stéphan, more threatened than ever
Before the match, the Rennes coach said he was aware of the discontent of his supporters. “The public has the right to express its dissatisfaction, and I will say that it can be justified after this start of the season. Nobody is satisfied, whether it is the public, the players or us the staff”, he recalled at a press conference this week, while showing a combative face: “The players were touched by the whistles, but we have to take that as a source of motivation.”
Words that are certainly attractive but which do not fit with the performances. The heavy defeat (3-0) in Burgundy bears witness to this, while names were already circulating in the press to replace the coach: first Stephano Pioli then Igor Tudor. After this fifth defeat of the season for Rennes, who is not playing in any European competition, Julien Stéphan is now more than ever in the hot seat. It would therefore not be impossible for Rennes to host Toulouse next Sunday (at 5:00 p.m.) with a new coach.
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