Rennes (AFP)

Rennes temporarily took the lead in Ligue 1 by overthrowing Monaco (2-1) on Saturday on behalf of the fourth day, while Lens temporarily climbed on the podium, on the strength of its victory (2-1) over Bordeaux.

In the top-of-the-table duel, it was Rennes who won after a match that kept its promises.

And the Bretons, 10 points, take the lead in place of Saint-Etienne (9 pts) which faces Nantes on Sunday (5:00 p.m.).

Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring for Monaco on a mistake by the Rennes defense (28th).

But Julien Stéphan's men equalized with a header from Steven Nzonzi, validated after resorting to video (81st), and won the bet with a goal from neophyte Adrien Truffert (90th + 2).

For his first match in L1, the 18-year-old scored with a strike from outside the area, poorly controlled by Monegasque goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.

The reserve team player is also a decisive passer on Nzonzi's goal, at the conclusion of a collective action.

On the Monegasque side, Ben Yedder scored his first goal of the season with a powerful strike, taking back a ball that a disagreement in defense left lying around in the area.

And the score could have been more prolific for both teams, who had several chances.

Monaco by Ben Yedder (7th, 56th) and Fofana (67th), Rennes by Bourigeaud (65th) or Guirassy (78th).

In addition to Saint-Etienne, Lille can also claim to join Rennes at the top of the Championship in the event of victory over Marseille on Sunday at the Vélodrome (9:00 p.m.).

- Amazing Lens -

The amazing newcomer to the podium is called Lens.

The Sang et Or won 2-1 over Bordeaux, a victory less narrow than it seems as they dominated the Girondins in the game.

At Bollaert-Delelis, Franck Haise's men won the middle battle and overwhelmed a Girondine defense which multiplied the errors.

Ignatius Ganago, the Lensois scorer at the start of the season (3 goals in 4 matches), opened the scoring after returning from the locker room, taking advantage of a blunder by Rémi Oudin.

Ganago only had to get ahead of Benoît Costil to score calmly, with a tight angle.

Playmaker Gaël Kakuta doubled the penalty (59th), after a foul that earned Paul Baysse a red card.

And the bill could have been even saltier without the Lensois failures, such as a point blank shot from Ganago (37th), a shot from Florian Sotoca deflected on the post by Benoît Costil (23rd) or off-target attempts from Kakuta ( 5th, 79th) and Ganago (14th).

Samuel Kalu saved the Bordeaux honor at the very end of the meeting with a miraculous header in the skylight after a free kick (90th + 5).

While waiting for the Sunday meetings, the Northerners are third, with 9 points taken out of 12 possible.

The maintenance operation is well under way.

© 2020 AFP