The savior Assignon
Disappointing since the resumption of Ligue 1, Stade Rennais was just as disappointing for its entry into the Europa League by narrowly winning 2 goals to 1 after additional time on the ground of the modest Cypriot team of Larnaca , Thursday during the first day of the group stage.
The hero of the day is the young defender Lorenz Assignon, who scored the goal of a narrow victory just ten minutes after coming on as a replacement for the Croatian Lovro Majer, decked out in a black mask due to a fracture of the nose.
Bruno Genesio’s players, with Steve Mandanda in goal, had however ideally entered the match, investing the Cypriot camp from the first minutes.
From the 16th minute, the Belgian international defender Arthur Theate failed with nothing to take back and score at the far post, following a corner taken by Majer and deflected with a header by captain Hamari Traoré.
It was only a postponement for Theate, who arrived from Bologna this summer, who found the opening thirteen minutes later with a superb long shot from the left, entering the goal with the help of a post (29th) .
And Assignon arose
But things would quickly go wrong for the Red and Blacks, victims of a culpable release half an hour into the game: a center from Venezuelan Roberto Rosales found the head of Spaniard Oier, former Osasuna, completely forgotten at the far post, which equalized (1-1, 33rd).
This unexpected but woke up the spectators of the small AEK stadium in Larnaca, which had not been full and in which about fifty Breton supporters had taken place.
More serious for Rennes, the game was then balanced.
The only notable action, a new corner from Majer on the right side that the young (20) Adrien Truffert, too short, did not manage to take back at the far post (51st).
On the contrary, it was the Cypriots who scared the French, especially on a good action and a close shot next to … Frenchman Imad Faraj (69th), trained in Lille.
But the deliverance came at the end of the end of additional time, the very inspired incoming Assignon scoring with a furious recovery under the bar, at the reception of a cross from Soulemana (90 + 4).
Stade Rennais, eliminated in the round of 16 of the Europa League Conference last year by Leicester, will continue with the reception of Auxerre on Sunday in the league, then that of the Turkish club Fenerbahçe next Thursday in this group B which also includes the Dynamo Kyiv.
The mission of these three clubs this fall is to consolidate the fifth place of Ligue 1 clubs in the UEFA coefficient. It’s off to a good start, while the start of the season has been hesitant in Ligue 1 for most of them.
Monaco had the less easy task with a trip to Marakana, the home of Red Star Belgrade. It all came down to a penalty from Breel Embolo, shot hard in the 74th minute, his third but this season.
In the other match of this group H a priori balanced, the Hungarians of Ferencvaros hardly beat the Turks of Trabzonspor (3-2).
Finally, by welcoming Olympiakos, FC Nantes found Europe again, in a stadium in La Beaujoire in fusion. With a result that lives up to the popular fervor of Nantes: 2-1 thanks to Mostafa Mohamed (32nd) and Evann Guessand (90th +5), at the end of the suspense, as for Rennes in Cyprus.