Until the last seconds, Stade Rennais and its 27,000 spectators in fusion believed in its Rennesmontada according to the expression which has gone viral in recent days on social networks. Winners of Leicester (2-1) in the round of 16 second leg of the Europa League conference, Thursday March 17, the Red and Blacks failed to reverse the score of the first leg (2-0). They are eliminated from the C4 and fail to reach the quarter-finals of a European Cup for the first time in their history.
The waves followed one another on Kasper Schmeichel’s goal in the last quarter of an hour that Rennes had managed to drive themselves crazy. But the dike did not yield a third time, which would have been synonymous with an extension to the taste of the first victory for the Bretons.
Hope returned when Flavien Tait scored Rennes’ second goal with a shot from the right (76′) less than twenty minutes after coming on (58′). This hope, this rage to overthrow Leicester and its more than 1,000 spectators, had however been showered, almost extinguished at the start of the second period. In a time-out, the header of the ghost Wesley Fofana found the nets after meeting the post on his way (1-1, 51st). A magnificent symbol for the international Espoirs tricolor who had been playing his first minutes for seven months and a terrible fracture of the fibula.
As in the first leg, therefore, Stade Rennais were upset even though Leicester had not shown much since the start of the match, except for a point-blank header from Ademola Lookman repelled by Dogan Alemdar ( 49th). Previously, the Foxes had mainly benefited from the errors of Warmed Omari (15th, 21st). On the first, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho again stumbled on the young Turkish goalkeeper, reassuring despite his inexperience.
Because Stade Rennais were convinced they could do it, they threw all their weapons into the fight from the kick-off. Carried by a magnificent public, who showed their love for their players from the warm-up and then during a warm lap of honor, the Reds and Blacks wanted to recreate the feat of victory against Arsenal (3-1) in the round of 16 final first leg of the Europa League 2018-2019.
“A goal early in the game can set the stadium and our fans on fire for the rest of the game and put us on the right track”, prophesied Martin Terrier, Wednesday, in a press conference. That’s exactly what happened and the Rennes striker was involved in the opener. Shifted by Adrien Truffert on the left side, he sent a strong center taken over victoriously by Benjamin Bourigeaud (1-0, 8th).
Bruno Génésio’s men then monopolized the ball for a large majority of the game (64%). But he missed a few real goalscoring opportunities despite the presence of many Rennais in the opposing area. The three shots on target ultimately weigh little for the teammates of the delicious attacking midfielder Lovro Majer.
Among these, the two goals but also the last very hot situation of Serhou Guirassy. A decisive passer on his team’s second goal, the striker saw his clever delivery on a cross from Birger Meling being diverted by Kasper Schmeichel (85th). Baptiste Santamaria was no happier on his side end (90 + 1st).
A handful of seconds later, a contentious situation regarding a hand in the Leicester box arose. The referee did not flinch, triggering a cloud of whistles but also the fury of Rennes when Mr. Sidiropoulos whistled the end of the match. A beginning of scuffle ensued.
But it is especially on his first leg that Stade Rennais can harbor regrets. Kelechi Iheanacho’s 2-0 goal conceded in added time finally hurt, too much for captain Hamari Traoré’s players. While the English supporters were still singing long minutes after the final whistle, the Rennais must already turn to the end of the championship which can be announced beautiful.