OM 1-1 Rennes: Match Report

Evening of Tributes

Olympique de Marseille paid tribute to the top scorer in its history - Gunnar Andersson. The legendary Swede's grandson took the ceremonial kick-off to mark 50 years since his passing.

Before starting the match against Rennes, a minute of applause was also given in memory of our former President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, who passed away on 26 September. 

Rongier's First Start

Valentin Rongier made his first start with OM against Rennes. Until now, he had only played in a few games. Lined up alongside Kevin Strootman and Morgan Sanson, the midfielder provided a very clean match and recovered no less than 10 balls, out of the 85 he played. Valentin Rongier also won 9 duels. He played the entire match. 

The match 

Faced with a five-man defence, the Olympians had difficulty getting into situations. When they had possession, they had to face very fast Rennes counter-attacks and were hit on 19 minutes by Mbaye Niang who came to open the scoring for the Bretons. 

In the first half, the Olympians proved dangerous from afar, with Sakai (15') and Rongier (43'), who struggled to find the target.

After the break, André Villas-Boas made a change with Amavi's exit for Radonjic's entry. It was the latter who forced a decisive corner, perfectly executed by Bouna Sarr and of which Duje Caleta-Car managed to hit the target.

At the end of the game, Rennes were stifled against a memorable double save from Steve Mandanda, who made two huge parries from close range in front of Hunou's shots.

The Olympians have now managed a third consecutive draw and will travel to Amiens on Friday, October 4 as part of the 9th round of the Ligue 1 Conforama.