Before the winter break, Stade Rennais were facing an uncomfortable truth, the team that has so often in recent years demonstrated its ambition to become a perennial challenger for the European spots, were in desperate need of points against teams struggling to stay afloat.
Rennes invested again over the summer, as they balanced the departures of Jérémy Doku and Lovro Majer with the acquisitions of Enzo Le Fée and Nemanja Matić. And there was an expectation that this was the season that the project building in Brittany would finally kick into gear.
Under manager, Bruno Génésio, Rennes had performed consistently as they secured two consecutive fourth-placed finishes. Yet, there was always a feeling that they had still underperformed compared to the immense potential hidden within the team.
A 5-1 victory to start this season against newly promoted FC Metz felt like a clear signal that their time had finally come, and the team remained unbeaten until a visit to Paris Saint-Germain in game week eight. After that loss, the floodgates were open, and the project under Génésio was soon at its end.
An old manager made anew
A poor run of form culminating in a defeat to then-winless Olympique Lyonnais was the breaking point for the club, as they acted quickly to sack Génésio. Rennes turned to the man that Génésio had originally replaced, as Julien Stéphan became their “new” manager.
Stéphan’s arrival saw Rennes win consecutive games for the first time this season before a slide into routine brought the club back to its worrying reality. Les Rouges et Noirs could not muster another performance, and with one game remaining in the year Stéphan admitted something that felt unthinkable, Rennes were facing a relegation battle.
The manager summarised, ‘The situation is not good, not bright, we must not deny it […] the diagnosis is clear and we have to face the reality, which is that we are fighting with teams like Toulouse and Clermont.’
Perhaps these comments were enough to galvanise a struggling squad, and they finished the year on a high with a victory over Clermont Foot. However, the winter break looked to bring fresh problems for the side.
A breakdown in relations between the club and Matić saw the player attempt to force a move away from Rennes only six months after joining the project in the North of France, while rumours persisted around striker, Arnaud Kalimuendo, who has become the target of Eintracht Frankfurt’s search for a forward.
A turning point for Rennes?
Despite the noise surrounding them, Les Rouges et Noirs returned from the break with a renewed outlook and a sense of calm on the field. A victory in the Coupe de France over local rivals En Avant Guingamp was just the sort of game that Rennes should be winning but was exactly the type of fixture that had left the team unstuck this season.
A visit from OGC Nice looked to be a difficult return to league football, but the calm that has come to take shape in Rennes ran for another week. Les Rouges et Noirs were exceptional in their 2-0 victory as they caused continuous problems for a Le Gym side that could not lay a glove on them.
They passed the ball with ease through a defence that had until that point only conceded nine goals all season, and defended with the kind of fervour that Stéphan had been clamouring to see only a month before.
Perhaps it’s too early to tell, but this match felt like a turning point for Rennes. Not because it was their third victory in a row, nor because of who they won against, but due to the cohesion of their performance. The manager was clearly impressed by his team, ‘I’d say it was an intelligent, well-constructed and ambitious game.’
And he was right. More of those performances and we may get closer to the promise that has been hidden beneath this Rennes side for far too long.
