Rennes began their Ligue 1 campaign on a high note with a commanding 3-0 victory over Lyon at home on Sunday.
The match was effectively decided in the first half, with Rennes scoring twice in quick succession. Benjamin Bourigeaud opened the scoring with a deflected free-kick in the 19th minute, and Amine Gouiri added a second just two minutes later. Henrik Meister sealed the win with a stoppage-time goal.
Rennes started strongly, and the breakthrough came when Ludovic Blas earned a free-kick in a dangerous position. Bourigeaud took the resulting free-kick, which took a deflection off the Lyon wall and past the wrong-footed goalkeeper.
Before Lyon could regroup, Gouiri scored Rennes’ second goal. An underhit backpass from Moussa Niakhate allowed Gouiri to intercept the ball, round goalkeeper Lucas Perri, and score from a tight angle.
In the second half, Rennes continued to press but failed to add to their tally. Lyon had a chance to pull one back when Georges Mikautadze was awarded a penalty in the 72nd minute, but experienced goalkeeper Steve Mandanda saved the spot-kick.
The final goal came in injury time when Danish forward Henrik Meister scored with a right-footed shot from inside the box, concluding the match at 3-0 in favor of Rennes.
Lyon’s opening day defeat contrasts with their recovery in the previous season under Pierre Sage, who led them to become one of the strongest teams in Ligue 1 by 2024.
In other matches, newly-promoted Auxerre marked their return to the top flight with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Nice. Mohamed-Ali Cho had put Auxerre ahead in the 21st minute, but Rayan Raveloson equalized for Nice. Substitute Lasso Coulibaly scored the decisive goal for Auxerre five minutes into stoppage time.
Lens also secured a narrow 1-0 win against Angers, with Wesley Said scoring the only goal of the match in the 28th minute. Said received the ball near the penalty spot, feinted one way, and shot the other way, leaving the Angers goalkeeper stranded.
Nantes and Toulouse played out a goalless draw, while Montpellier and Strasbourg shared the points in a 1-1 draw, with both goals coming in the second half.
