Rennes falls free: five consecutive defeats and the specter of the descent in France

Jorge Sampaoli landed in France in November with the hope of straightening the situation within the Rennes. However, the initial impulse effect seems to have faded. This Saturday, his team recorded his Fifth consecutive defeat by bowing 2-1 when he trip to Monaco.

This situation even more complicates its chances of staying in Ligue 1, where the club is positioned in 15th place, but with the same number of points (17) as Nantes, which occupies the barragist spot (16th), and which must face Lyon (6th) this Sunday.

Since his first match on November 24 against Lille, the Argentinian coach has led 10 games, with a record of three victories and seven defeats. In addition, his team is far from Europe and was excluded from the Coupe de France, having been eliminated in January by Troyes, a club which fights to avoid relegation in Ligue 2.

If Rennes came to fall into the relegation zone – in the possibility that Nantes gleaned one or three points – the pressure on Sampaoli, which has already been under the fire of criticism for several weeks, would only increase.

During this Saturday visit to the Principality, the Rennes held up in the first half. Maghnes Akliouche opened the scoring for Monaco in the 15th minute, and Cameroonian Mahamadou Nagida (45+1) allowed Rennes to equalize before the break.

In the second half, Monaco quickly distanced himself with goals from the Danish Mika Biereth (52) and the Russian Aleksandr Golovin (56) in the space of five minutes. The Algerian Amine Gouiri reduced the gap for reindeer in the 67th minute, but the display table of Louis II remained frozen.

Monaco, who remained on four games without victory in Ligue 1, finds thanks to this success a provisional place on the podium, with two points ahead of Lille, which moves this Saturday in Strasbourg (10th).

For the men of Sampaoli, this defeat represents the fourth consecutive in Ligue 1 (this is the fifth if one includes that suffered against Troyes on January 15), and they have not won since last year, when that ‘They won 2-0 against Angers on December 15.

“The situation is not ideal, but it is the one in which we are and we must resolve it quickly, because the club and the city deserve better. It’s a big challenge ”said the former coach of the Argentine national team when he took office. However, he still struggles to find the solution and could celebrate the end of the weekend with increased concerns.

One of the few favorable elements for coach Santaufsin lies in the number of goals scored, since since his arrival, his team has scored 17 goals while hosting 14, thus offering a better difference compared to the other teams at the bottom of the table of Ligue 1. However, it is obvious that this is not enough and that concrete results become a necessity for Sampaoli and its reindeer.