On their sofa, Rennes saw a direct ticket fall from the sky on Tuesday evening for the group stage of the Champions League, a historic first for the Breton club which will have to strengthen itself to try to look good.
The planets are perfectly aligned for the Bretons, 3rd in Ligue 1, who theoretically had to pass two uncertain preliminary rounds in September. But according to UEFA regulations, the French club could be exempted from these uncertain confrontations by recovering the place reserved for the winner of the Europa League if the latter had already qualified. However, the four clubs still competing in C3 - Inter Milan and Manchester United qualified on Monday evening, Sevilla and Shakhtar Donetsk qualified on Tuesday evening - have already obtained their ticket in their national championship.
Rennes joins PSG, Marseille, and possibly Lyon
These four regulars of the final stages of European cups are therefore the delight of the Bretons, who will play from October 20 the prestigious and lucrative group stage of the C1, alongside Paris SG, Marseille, and possibly Lyon in case of improbable victory of the "Gones" in the final of the Champions League at the end of August.
In the Europa League, the three French tickets returned to Lille and Nice, directly qualified for the group stage, and to Reims, which will have to go through the second qualifying round scheduled for September 17, then through the third a week later, before a barrage scheduled for October 1, all behind closed doors and in a single match.