Lille get a (lucky) point

By: Shazback | September 3rd, 2007

For Lille’s first visit to Brittany since last season’s 38th game, where they managed a draw thanks to a 94th minute goal by Fauvergue that meant Rennes were 4th, 1 point behind Toulouse, and thus didn’t qualify for the Champions’ League, Rennes gave an impressive display.

Rennes started out with Dréossi’s new toy (Wiltord) in the starting eleven for the first time since his transfer. Now, I’m all for Wiltord to start games, but he wasn’t anywhere near the form he had against Metz, and seemed barely better than against Auxerre. I hope Dréossi will use Emerson (his other new toy) to take some pressure off Wiltord, and perhaps use Wiltord for 2 or 3 games as a “super sub” until he hits full form… And then Emerson can be the “super sub”. I’m saying this because after his great game against Metz, I don’t want his level of play to drop, and his games against Auxerre and now Lille seem to be going the wrong way. He was still a very good attacker, useful in the play, but against Metz he was something else. He was just finding gaping holes in Metz’s defence, flicking balls right into his team-mates runs, and every time he touched the ball, I felt Rennes would score. Now, I just feel that when he gets the ball, it’s just a good player getting the ball.

But Wiltord is not alone. Rennes have another gem in Leroy, who is going to be a strong candidate for player of the month for August. Leroy was at the start of all the good moves, and his pairing with Briand and Didot is simply fantastic. They seem to find each other no matter where they are on the pitch, and the number of one-twos that Briand and Leroy do is simply incredible. They must have done something like 6 or 7 over the last 3 games. Leroy is, so far, the best summer signing, and he showed it against Lille. Makoun, a player I rate a lot, simply couldn’t hold him, and his passing and movement seemed to be just too much for Lille’s midfield, as he repeatedly got away from his marker, found space to receive the ball, and then calmly pass it to another player in red and black.

If Leroy was the man of the match in my opinion, he didn’t have anything on Fanni’s “move” of the match. Fanni is a wing back that Rennes bought from Nice this summer, and I have to admit that I’d just heard a few people say he was good, without ever paying that much attention to him, or any other Nice player (I know that’s not nice). But he’s going to be a fabulous player. On the 48th minute, he collected the ball after Rennes had been passing it around a little, and he was faced by two Lille players, about 20 meters into Lille’s half. He waits for the Lille players to close in on him, and then he knocks the ball round one, leaving the other standing, and chases after the ball, fighting off the Lille player. Just as he gets to the ball, another Lille defender comes to challenge for the ball, and then Fanni, with one touch, nutmegs him. He then concludes this run with an assist for Leroy. In fact, I’m not sure mere words can explain what he did. Go and watch the video right now. I mean… What more can I ask of him? That was perfect.

So, if Leroy scored thanks to Fanni’s genius, by that time, Rennes were already one down, after Luzi picked the ball out of his net after 20 minutes. Why Luzi? Well… Although Pouplin is Rennes’ number one keeper, he succumbed to a mild form of the “Ligue 1 goalkeeper curse”. Coupet tore a ligament just before the start of the season, Carasso ruptured his Achilles’ tendon, Ramé recieved a red card, and Pouplin received what seems like “good” treatment : he pulled a muscle. However, this meant that Luzi got a chance to play his second ever Ligue 1 game, and frankly, it won’t be that good a souvenir. On the first goal, Bastos whips in a free-kick from quite far outside his box, but Rennes’ defence didn’t move, leaving Franquart free to score his first ever Ligue 1 goal. Then, he didn’t really have anything to do until the last half-hour, when the game started to become a bit more frantic, but even then, Fauvergue missed so many chances that he didn’t get a chance to prove his worth. He did concede a second goal however, but I don’t hold it against him, because it was a truly fantastic goal by Bastos, who crossed his header just inside the far post.

Why did I say that Lille got a “lucky” point then? Well, because Rennes should have scored a third goal before Bastos hit back. Only 6 minutes after Leroy had pulled Rennes back on level terms, Didot placed one of his lovely long-range shots right into the back of Sylva’s net. Sylva was unlucky on the goal, because he’s getting all the blame, but he’s only half guilty. Sure, he failed to get the ball far out from his kick, but he did get it to Makoun. However, Makoun completely missed his ball control, and Didot picked up the loose ball. Didot’s laser-guided shot, however, is not something even the most die-hard Lille fans expect him to be able to save. Rennes had a chance to put the game out of Lille’s reach however, when Sorlin’s shot was badly parried by Sylva, and fell for Wiltord. However, Wiltord managed to head the ball the wrong side of the post, despite only being 9 yards from the goal-line. I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t lost faith in Wiltord however, but I think he cruelly needs more form, because I’m sure that if he had just that little bit more energy when he went for that ball, it would have been in the back of the net, to my great glee.

So, Rennes dominated the game, but didn’t win mainly due to Rennes’ lack of a proper back four, and, I know I’m being harsh, Wiltord’s miss. M’Bia is a great midfielder, but he just doesn’t have defensive reflexes yet, and when he is paired with Hansson, who doesn’t speak French and has just moved in from the Netherlands, he is completely amiss during dead-ball situations. With Pouplin behind, it doesn’t matter much, because Pouplin likes dead-ball situations, but with the inexperienced Luzi behind him, it starts to show. But once Mensah is back, I think that problem will be solved.

One last thing, though, is that Pagis was injured after collision with Emerson (no, not Rennes’ Emerson, Lille’s Emerson). It seems like it’s just a nasty knock that has twisted his ankle a little too far but nothing much, and he’s expected to only miss two or three games at most, since there’s a break for the international games now. However, he’ll meet his pal Thomert in the injury bay, as Thomert is still recovering from an adductor injury he suffered after scoring two goals against Metz. Add Pouplin and Mensah that have already been mentioned, and I think that Rennes will jump on the bandwagon that Lyon and Marseille are heading that will ask for next season to not start with 7 games in 29 days.

Video :

In other news, Rennes are 6th of Ligue 1, with 12 points (3 wins, 3 draws, 1 defeat). Lyon are 5th, so Rennes have just lost the title of “The Offside Ligue 1 Leader“. Also, sorry for the long post, but a match against another The Offside blog side is something special, so it recieves a little more attention.