Lorient punish nine-man Rennes in emphatic derby win

FC Lorient grabbed their first win since being promoted back to Ligue 1 McDonald's in emphatic style, cruising to a dominant 4-0 win over Stade Rennais in the first Breton Derby of the season. Olivier Pantaloni’s side took full advantage of Rennes being reduced to nine men inside the opening ten minutes, with goals from Sambou Soumano, Tosin Aiyegun, Pablo Pagis and Théo Le Bris sealing a memorable win at the Stade du Moustoir.

A chaotic opening

The match turned dramatically in Lorient’s favour almost immediately. Mahdi Camara was shown a straight red card in the 6th minute for a dangerous high boot on Dermane Karim. Four minutes later, Christopher Wooh followed him down the tunnel, dismissed for a last-man challenge on Tosin. With Rennes down to nine men before the quarter-hour, the derby had taken on an extraordinary complexion.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Rennes threatened briefly when Seko Fofana struck the crossbar with a superb effort, but Lorient’s breakthrough arrived just before the interval. Soumano danced past the defence before finishing low past Brice Samba (45’+5) to give the hosts the lead.

Lorient cut loose

The Merlus wasted little time after the restart. Tosin volleyed home from a corner in the 47th minute, doubling the advantage and leaving Rennes with an impossible task.

Substitutes then added further gloss to the scoreline. Pablo Pagis marked his Ligue 1 return with a poacher’s finish (65’). Just four minutes later, Théo Le Bris headed in at the back post (69’) after fine work from Kouassi, sparking jubilant celebrations around the stadium. Le Bris has now scored his first goal in the Ligue 1 this season, netting for the first time since 27th January 2023 against Rennes.

THE STAT:

Lorient have scored three goals or more in a game for the first time since 19th May 2024 against Clermont (W5-0). Rennes are the first team to pick up two red cards in only ten minutes and four seconds of a Ligue 1 game