Terrier rediscovers bite as Rennes brush Ajaccio aside
Aiming to better their fourth-place finish from last season, Rennes initially struggled to break down a stubborn AC Ajaccio side, which kept their first Ligue 1 clean sheet in 35 matches last time out. Although Rennes found early opportunities scarce, their quality in the final third soon showed, when Martin Terrier found space on the edge of the area and thumped a powerful strike past Leroy into the bottom corner.
Ajaccio had a serious task on their hands to come back, considering they had scored one goal or fewer in each of their last 14 visits to Roazhon Park, but the visitors got a lifeline before HT as Loïc Badé conceded a penalty. Thomas Mangani smashed in the resulting spot kick, only for Hakim Ben El Hadj to signal for a re-take, and he failed the second time around as Doğan Alemdar kept out the striker's fierce penalty.
The visitors stuck at their task in the second period, and rewarded the handful of die-hard travelling supporters with a goal when an unmarked Mounaim El Idrissy headered in Mangani’s whipped cross. But the Bears' celebrations were to be short-lived, as they failed to clear a Rennes corner, and Arthur Theate was lurking at the back post to head into the top corner for a matchwinner the Rouge et Noir just about deserved.
Despite being slightly tainted by the late dismissal of Chimuanya Ugochukwu for a rash challenge in injury time, Rennes’ first victory of the Ligue 1 season was a welcome sight for Bruno Génésio, and his men are now unbeaten against Ajaccio in seven of their last eight home matches. While few expected anything different, Ajaccio coach Olivier Pantaloni will lament his side’s defending, especially after the Bears gave themselves half a chance of securing a second consecutive league point following El Idrissy’s second half goal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Martin Terrier (Rennes)