Auxerre thump Rennes to continue resurgent run (4-0)
Match Reports
l'AJA run riot at home to Rennes as a brace from Gaëtan Perrin and goals from Sinayoko and Onaiwu sealed an emphatic three points.
It's one of the surprise shocks of the weekend in Ligue 1, as Auxerre dominated Rennes by four goals to continue their recent resurgence up the league table to 10th place. The Breton away side would have the ball in the back of the net, but Arnaud Kalimuendo's strike would be ruled out for a handball following a fine save from Léon between the sticks for Auxerre (11'). The home side reacted, as Traoré canonned a strike off the post - and it was a sign of things to come for the defensively fragile Rennes side.
Matusiwa would poorly clear the ball out of defence for Rennes, and Gaëtan Perrin recovered well and followed up with a clinical strike to open the scoring in the favour of Les Diplomates. Les Rouges et Noirs conceded only minutes later, when Perrin was played through by Traoré and the Frenchman easily slotted past Steve Mandanda for his first-ever brace in Ligue 1 (27').
At the break Julien Stéphan would alter SRFC's approach, bringing on Gouiri, Santamaria, and Faye. The former would be denied by a smart save from Léon just before the hour-mark, before he provided a great ball for Kalimeundo who finished wonderfully to perhaps get Rennes back into the game. Yet the joy would be short-lived, as the referee called back play for a foul in the Rennes box before the piece of play that saw the Frenchman score. More harshly for the visitors, the referee would then award a penalty for AJA and Sinayoko dispatched confidently to further trouble Julien Stéphan's side (65').
Rennes couldn't recover from the setback, and it would get even worse. Onaiwu added a goal in injury time (90+4') to compound matters in what was a stinging defeat for Rennes, who now linger in 13th place in the league. Meanwhile, Auxerre moved up to 10th before facing a tough trip to Marseille next Friday.
THE STAT: Fantastic Four
Auxerre had not won a Ligue 1 match by a margin of at least 4 goals since 29 April 2012 (4-0 v Brest). Rennes, meanwhile, had not lost by a margin of 4 goals in the top flight since 6 November 2016 (0-4 v Paris).
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