At the end of a match played under high tension, Olympique Lyonnais, in numerical superiority for almost the entire match, won in Rennes and finally launched their season this Sunday (1-0).
There was electricity in the air this Sunday in Brittany. And not only because Bruno Genesio, former pariah of the Lyon public, found this club that he knows inside out. Rennes has been having a bad time in the league for two months, and the Breton club had every intention of stopping its poor momentum after recovering on the European scene in the middle of the week.
But all eyes were focused on this Lyon team, moribund and without reference. Red lantern at kick-off, the Rhone club was obliged to achieve results, while its victory counter was still at zero. And Fabio Grosso’s team succeeded in achieving a very valuable success in this match played under high tension.
Rennes saw red from the start
The first sensation took place before kick-off, when we discovered the tenure of Rayan Cherki and the absence of Alexandre Lacazette. Then it only took three minutes to see the second, when the young Guéla Doué left his teammates at ten after a direct red card for a violent foul on Tagliafico (3rd). A turning point, certainly. OL still had to take it. And it took time, sweat, stress and a good dose of suspense to make it happen.
O’Brien, a very precious goal
After a contested half-time ending with scenes of tension between Bruno Genesio and Rémy Vercoutre in the corridors, the Lyonnais found the light around the hour mark, with a victorious helmet strike from Jake O’Brien (0- 1, 67e). A short but valuable advantage that the Grosso gang retained until the final whistle, with their legs shaking. We therefore had to wait until November 12 for OL to unlock their victory counter. The rest will tell if this date will be foundational for the rest of this chaotic season.
