Lille returned last night to Paris at the top of Ligue 1 thanks to a controlled 1-0 victory against feverish Rennes, who let the top quartet stand out. Despite the guard of honor and the dozens of smoke bombs deployed by more than 300 ultras on their arrival at the stadium, the Rennes, who remained in seven matches without defeat, fell back into a certain feverishness in defense and did not find the fault in attack.
After a first quarter of an hour mastered by Rennes, Christophe Galtier’s men took the advantage from their first serious action, started by a strike from Jonathan David diverted by Romain Salin. On the return corner from Yazici, the Rennes goalkeeper pushed the ball back with a tap in the feet of David, who slipped it into the goal (0-1, 16th). The Mastiffs continued to press, with a strike from Yazici this time correctly repelled by Salin (19th).
The festival of Salin
Always very solid in defense, Lille held up well to Rennes’ attempts to react, without however succeeding in taking advantage of an increasingly clumsy Red and Black defense. Used to always advance a lot, Salin offered a festival, venturing with the ball to the foot to the middle of the field, at the risk of several times running behind a long free kick or a Lille striker. Up front, Rennes showed more control in the second half, thanks to Camavinga, again very restless and often efficient, and Doku, untenable. But the Lille defense held on, as on this header from Aguerd on a corner, pushed back to the line by Celik, back after a month of absence for injury (61st).
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