The Rennes have showered the European hopes of Montpellier this Sunday. - Damien Meyer / AFP

After Thursday's defeat against Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de France, Julien Stéphan had called for "the immediate remobilization" of his troops. The message was perfectly heard by his players. And how ! By sticking a manita (5-0) in Montpellier this Sunday afternoon, Stade Rennais showed the muscles to its competitors and displayed its ambitions in the race for Europe. "I think this is our benchmark match of the season, the most successful in many areas, at the collective level, technical and athletic intensity," said Julien Stéphan after the meeting.

💬Julien Stéphan: "This is our benchmark match. The collective is always stronger than anything ..." The reaction of the @staderennais coach after this demonstration against Montpellier. @ TVR35 #SRFCMHSC # J28 pic.twitter.com/2fzqVWzgOP

- Christophe Penven (@PenvenC) March 8, 2020

Without Niang, Raphinha and Bourigeaud left on the bench at kick-off and in a 4-3-3 system, the Bretons made the break from half an hour's play. First on a Maouassa missile in full skylight (9th) before Hunou doubles the bet on a good service from Tait (28th).

5-0 winner of Montpellier, Rennes signed their biggest success in Ligue 1 since October 26, 2013 in Toulouse (5-0). Feast. #SRFCMHSC pic.twitter.com/uWfycMmNRm

- OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 8, 2020

In lack of control in the game for a few games, the Rennais then completely dominated the debates in the second half, driving the point on a beautiful rolled shot from Tait (68th) before Del Castillo (73rd) and Hunou (87th) further increase the penalty score. "We had a very big game and made a very nice accounting transaction," said midfielder James Léa-Siliki.

The people of Rennes do not want to catch fire

Firmly seated in third place on the podium they have occupied since the end of year holidays, the Rennais have indeed relegated their evening opponents to ten points. And put pressure on Marseille, Lille and Lyon, in the race for a place in the Champions League. But Julien Stéphan does not want to ignite and already talk about Europe. “We occupy a magnificent place in the classification which was not at all hoped for at the start of the championship, underlined the Rennes coach. But there are still 10 days and 30 points at stake, everything can still go very quickly. ”

A discourse of caution shared by James Léa-Siliki. “We of course have Europe in the back of our minds. But we don't focus on it or on our opponents, we focus on our game first. ”

Sport

The Girondins are treading water, in the classification as in the game

Sport

PSG disinfects the Parc des Princes to play against Dortmund in front of its audience

  • Languedoc-Roussillon
  • Soccer
  • Reindeer
  • Montpellier
  • Rennais Stadium
  • Sport
  • League 1