The learning continues: for the second Champions League match in its history, Rennes, without its executives Steven Nzonzi (suspended) and Eduardo Camavinga (decreased), resisted for a long time against Sevilla before yielding 1-0, Wednesday, October 28 , as part of the second day of C1.

Symptomatic: it is on a long pass from Fernando for Marcos Acuña, and a cross from the Argentinian for Luuk de Jong (55th), that Rennes ended up breaking under the repeated assaults of the reigning winners of the Europa League.

But Rennes can have regrets.

Because for a long time, Julien Stéphan's men bent without breaking.

The reds and blacks suffered enormously from the long repeating cross-sections intended for Jesus Navas and Munir El Haddadi, very agitated Wednesday night, over the Breton defense.

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Cross, center, shot: this was the typical action of the game plan proposed by the Basque technician Julen Lopetegui ... And the plan proved to be effective, given the outrageous domination of his men, with 11 corners to nothing , and 22 double strikes.

"We are in the learning phase, this is the first time that we are here. We will learn a lot from this meeting, of course," Julien Stéphan said positively on Wednesday night after the match.

"We regret not having made better use of the ball ... In the first half, we have a few situations, I would not say that these are opportunities, but situations where we could have played the shot better. learning, we must not lie to each other. (...) We are with one of the best teams in Europe, that's the reality. To come and win here, that would have been an achievement ", relativized Clément Grenier at a post-match press conference.

Jeremy Doku too lonely

Too bad for Rennes, long remained impervious to the Andalusian assaults, but who never managed to take advantage of this tightness and the opposing clumsiness to gain the advantage.

All Breton opportunities were stupidly wasted, like this missed center (12th) or this strike countered by Martin Terrier (33rd).

Serhou Guirassy well padlocked by former Ligue 1 defenders Diego Carlos and Jules Koundé (just recovered from his week of confinement after a positive test for the new coronavirus), only Jérémy Doku, on his right wing, tried to carry the danger in the Sevillian camp.

This is where the absence of French internationals Steven Nzonzi and Eduardo Camavinga was felt in the Rennes midfield: without their two benchmarks, Julien Stéphan's men lacked control, playing the game, and are not failed to organize to relaunch properly.

And that did not work out for the red and black: in the 14th, the Italian international central defender Daniele Rugani must give up his place, visibly affected in the left leg, and is replaced by Nayef Aguerd.

Then upon returning from the locker room, Benjamin Bourigeaud left the field prematurely, replaced by James Léa-Siliki.

Learning is tough, but Rennes is still in its infancy in the biggest European league ... which leads to approximations, like captain Damien Da Silva, who forgot to exchange his pennant with his Sevilla FC counterpart Jesus Navas before kick-off.

Accumulating injuries

After a draw during the club's first experience in the Champions League against Krasnodar (1-1) last week, Rennes will still have to wait to bring back a historic first victory in C1.

And his worries are likely to multiply at Stamford Bridge against the illustrious Chelsea, the next meeting of Rennes in the Champions League, Wednesday, where Rennes may not travel in full.

"What worries me the most is the injuries that accumulate. These are muscle injuries, Dani (Rugani), Benjamin (Bourigeaud), Eduardo (Camavinga), it's muscular ... It means that the bodies are already tired ", quirked Stéphan Wednesday evening.

Sevillian side, Lopetegui can breathe, after the defeat against the modest Eibar (1-0) last weekend in La Liga.

But the criticisms addressed to his training for several weeks have not been repaired.

After winning four of the last six Europa Leagues, Sevilla will have to regain the offensive efficiency that was their strength last season, if they are to pass the course in the "big" European Cup.

With AFP

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