PLAYER RATINGS | Rennes 1-1 Marseille: Bretons defeat Les Phocéens on penalties | OneFootball

Rennes hosted Marseille at the vibrant Roazhon Park for a cracking Coupe de France tie this Sunday between two title contenders. Coincidentally, both teams faced off at the same stage of the tournament last year – Igor Tudor’s side came out winners at the Vélodrome courtesy of a strike from Mattéo Guendouzi. Tonight’s winners will face third-tier side Sochaux in the RO16 stage.

After an enterprising start, Rennes gradually allowed Marseille a way into the game. Vitinha and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both missed opportunities to open the scoring. Les Phocéens suffered an early injury setback with left-sided wingback Amir Murillo limping off the pitch. Marseille manager Gennaro Gattuso would be hit by a double whammy with promising midfielder Bilal Nadir being stretchered off for a foot injury. Out-of-favour winger Luis Henrique entered the fray. Marseille’s reaction to contrary events showed their character.

Jeanuël Belocian and Guéla Doué both missed Jonathan Clauss’ cross from the right – Jordan Veretout did not. The France international midfielder lashed a powerful half-volley in Gauthier Gallon’s top left corner. Not for the first time this season, a lapse of attention at the back had dire consequences for Les Rouge et Noir. The visitors would have gone 2-0 up had Belocian not blocked Vitinha’s effort.

Pau Lopez denies Benjamin Bourigeaud from the spot

This entertaining first half had another twist coming. Substitute Ulysses Garcia was adjudged to have fouled Arnaud Kalimuendo in the penalty box – a controversial decision to say the least. The ever-reliable Benjamin Bourigeaud stepped up from the spot and Pau Lopez denied his attempt, as well as the rebound.

The penalty warning seems to have fallen on deaf Marseille ears. Rennes were pushing hard for an early equalizer in the second half. Arnaud Kalimuendo first missed a sitter before Martin Terrier got the better of the visiting defenders by deflecting home a free-kick from Bourigeaud. Marseille were all over the place and Gattuso was left raging on the touchline.

Rennes were unable to carry on with their blistering pace and the game’s tempo slowed down. Opportunities became scarce, and the penalty shootout was looming. Warmed Omari blocked another attempt from Vitinha in injury time, and that was it. Penalties would decide the winner. Rennes would win 9-8 with Samuel Gigot hitting the crossbar – the shootout’s first miss – before 18-year-old Rennes left-back Mahamadou Nagida kept his cool to seal his team’s qualification.

Penalty shootout

Rennes : Kalimuendo (O), Bourigeaud (O), Santamaria (O), Le Fée (O), Blas (O), Yildirim (O), Omari (O), Belocian (O), Nagida (O)

Marseille : Veretout (O), Balerdi (O), Vitinha (O), Aubameyang (O), Onana (O), Luis Henrique (O), Clauss (O), Garcia (O), Gigot (X)

Rennes players ratings

Gauthier Gallon, 5

Guéla Doué, 4

Warmed Omari, 6

Jeanuël Belocian, 5

Adrien Truffert, 5

Benjamin Bourigeaud, 5

Baptiste Santamaria, 6

Enzo Le Fée, 6

Désiré Doué, 4

The Newcastle United target is certainly gifted, as implied by his name. Still, he’s making too many mistakes with the ball glued to his feet. His decision-making needs some serious improvement. He was unsurprisingly the first Rennes player to be substituted.

Martin Terrier, 7

The talismanic Rennes striker only needed one clear goalscoring opportunity to breathe new life into the tie. After coming back from a devastating ACL tear, the French centre-forward is clearly on the right track to regaining his commanding best. Scary hours for Ligue 1 defenders.

Arnaud Kalimuendo, 4

Marseille players ratings

Pau Lopez, 6

Bamo Meïté, 4

Samuel Gigot, 4

Leonardo Balerdi, 5

Jonathan Clauss, 6

Jean Onana, 4

An unconvincing first start with Marseille for the former Besiktas and RC Lens midfielder. He struggled to match the intensity of his midfield opponents and his positioning was sometimes erratic. Booked for an unnecessary lunge on Terrier.

Bilal Nadir, N/A

Jordan Veretout, 6

Amir Murillo, N/A

Came off injured in the 15th minute with what looked like a hamstring strain. Replaced by Switzerland international Ulysses Garcia for his first appearance with Les Phocéens.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 4

Vitinha, 3

The Portuguese centre-forward is certainly determined to prove his doubters wrong. Still, he’s lacking the killer touch in the penalty box, which is the difference between good strikers and the best ones. We’re not sure in which category the €32m man falls into.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval