Group G of the Conference League had a crazy evening this Thursday night. Rennes not on their plate could not do better than a draw against Arnhem, who equalized deservedly in stoppage time (3-3). However, Stade Rennais is guaranteed to be first in the group and to qualify directly for the eighth, thanks to Mura’s surprise home victory against Tottenham. The match in London in two weeks will count for butter for Bruno Genesio’s men.
The movie of the match
In a lively match, which Rennes have rarely mastered, Stade Rennais had to be content with a draw against Vitesse Arnhem. Well launched in the meeting by a quick goal from Gaëtan Laborde (1-0, 9th), Rennes take a comfortable advantage thirty minutes later thanks to a second achievement by the former Montpellier, well served by Meling (2-0, 39th). Two minutes later, the Rouge et Noir three times miss the opportunity to kill the match, by Tait, Laborde then Majer, who stumble on the Dutch goalkeeper then on a defender well placed on his line. A minute later, Vitesse returns to the game thanks to a nice strike from Huisman at the entrance to the area (2-1, 43rd).
In the second period, Stade Rennais struggled to come back from the locker room, but managed to regain two goals in advance thanks to the third goal from Laborde, who takes advantage of a service from Santamaria after a free kick badly rejected by the defense of Arnhem to deceive once again Houwen (3-1, 69th). Laborde joins Guirassy at the top of the ranking of the best scorers in Rennes history in the European Cup. But after this achievement, Rennes lost focus and let Arnhem get back into the game. Six minutes later, Buitink allows Arnhem to return to a goal from Rennes (3-2, 85th), who then choose to move back to preserve the score. Losing bet, since Lois Openda, very restless, equalizes in stoppage time with a beautiful half-volley in the box (3-3, 90th).
But this draw remains irrelevant, since at the same time, at the end of the match, Mura scored the winning goal against Tottenham, and thus sends Rennes directly to the knockout stages of the Conference League in March. Rennes will be able to go to London in early December without pressure. And they will have deserved it in view of their overall state of mind on this group stage.