Lepaul, Peter on target in feisty Breton derby
Despite not finishing with a man sent off for the first time this season, Stade Rennais were unable to hold on for a win on the road against Angers in Ligue 1 McDonald's, the derby match ending in a one-all draw.
A strong start
Despite lacking the suspended trio of Mahdi Camara, Christopher Wooh and Abdelhamid Ait-Boudlal, Habib Beye's visitors started the strongest, led by new signing Esteban Lepaul. Signed in the week, the striker would open the scoring against his former team, but he was far from the only player to trouble Le SCO early doors. With just two minutes on the clock, Ludovic Blas, who had been the hero against Marseille on Matchday One sent a rasping shot past Hervé Koffi's post.
The hosts would respond through Prosper Peter, their teenage striker, who forced Brice Samba into a smart save. Rennes would reassert their dominance, and Koffi had to be sharp again with a pair of saves against Lepaul and Quentin Merlin before the new man broke the deadlock. Getting on the end of Merlin's low cross, he put his side ahead with a fine one-touch finish.
Esteban Lepaul with a goal against his former club! ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/KiUSQ1dIyf
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) August 31, 2025
Angers battle back but fall short of a win
Despite being a goal down, Angers proved themselves to be well up for this derby encounter in the form of Peter, as Carlens Arcus set his side away on the counter. Controlling a ball from Yassin Belkhdim, the young striker held off the Rennes defence to level the score. From there, both sides looked to win the game with both Beye and his opposite number, Alexandre Dujeux, making attacking changes.
The latter of these almost paid off as substitute Lanroy Machine had an effort flash wide of the post, before Merlin was unable to get an effort on target despite Koffi coming off his line rather rashly. The match thus ended level, with neither side able to break the deadlock. After the international break, Rennes are next in action against Lyon while Angers will travel to face promoted FC Metz.
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