Stade Rennais 1-1 SM Caen: Match Report

Ten men Caen salvaged a vital point away at Roazhon Park, drawing 1-1 with Rennes, leaving them still in the upper reaches of the Ligue 1 table.

After losing Emmanuel Imorou on 35 minutes, the visitors deployed a more defensive structure. However, Juan Quintero managed to break down the sturdy back line, scoring in the 63rd. A spanner was then thrown into the works when Caen pulled a goal back through Syam Ben Youssef 10 minutes before the end.

The scorer returned to the Caen first team, having been benched last week in the home defeat against Lille. Returning to the Rennes starting 11 was Abdoulaye Doucoure who missed a few previous games due to injury. Centre-mid, Gelson Fernandes, sat out due to suspension, meaning the more attacking Quintero could play in an offensive looking squad.

Equal opening half until Imorou's dismissal

Caen started the brightest of the two teams, playing darting passes short and long, giving Rennes the runaround. The first attempt came from an early free kick by ex-Rennes favourite, Julien Feret, whose strike was deflected for a corner. The following passage wasn't effective from the Normandy club and the Bretons commenced on the counter.

On the attack, Rennes took advantage of the few men back in defence as Kamil Grosicki faced up against Remy Vercoutre. The Polish international winger tried to dribble by the stopper but was halted in his tracks as the keeper snatched the ball.

French under-19 international, Ousmane Dembele, was the next player to pass up a promising chance for Rennes. Coming in from the right, he made his way deep into the box, opting shoot rather than find a team mate with a pass. There was no conviction on the shot and Vercoutre got down to hold.

At the other end, Rennes midfielder, Benjamin Andre, was lucky not to have given a penalty away for a blatant shove on Vincent Bessat inside the box. The referee waved play-on without too many protestations from the Caen camp. Soon after though, they did have the ball in the net. Following a parried shot, Damien Da Silva converted into the net but the offside flag was raised against him.

From hope to complete despair for Caen when they went down to 10 men following the dismissal of Imorou. The defender brought down Giovanni Sio as he was pulling away to run into the box. The red card was referee, Johan Hamel's seventh dished out this season and Caen's fourth player to be sent off this campaign.

Dominant Rennes punished for no converting more

The second half kicked off with Rennes being awarded a free kick in the final third of the Caen half. Quintero was tasked with crossing a tricky ball into the box. Unfortunately the vital, and arguably goal scoring, touch wasn't found and the ball found its way into Vercoutre's arms.

The best chance of the game up to this point fell to the feet of many of the Rennes advanced players. A goal mouth scramble included Sio hitting the post from an acute angle and Doucoure shooting inches wide from the target. The next chance for the midfielder was even better, some may say. Following a clean strike on the ball inside the box, Vercoutre pulled off a one handed save at the bottom left corner.

More second half heroics from the former Lyon goalkeeper came from the right foot of Grosicki who thundered a shot straight down the throat of Vercoutre. A vital touch with his fingertips was enough to divert the ball over the bar.

Just as everything seemed to be going swimmingly for Vercoutre, he was soon returned to reality when his blunder put Caen a goal behind. From out of nothing, Quintero opened his foot on the ball which the Caen keeper kneeled down to collect. Bizarrely, he misjudged the pace of the ball and it went through his legs.

Vercoutre would then go onto redeem himself when he pulled off a smart save from Quintero's deflected effort five minutes later.

As time ticked down, the depleted Caen reverted back to an attacking style of play and tried the tired legs of the Rennes defence. They were almost immediately awarded when Da Silva rose above everyone in the box to turn a header inches by the post.

Just over 10 minutes from the 90, the visitors did manage to level the game through Ben Youssef. A centred corner wasn't defended properly by the defending Rennes players, leaving the scorer the easy job of volleying home from six yards.

As the game drew to a close, there was little in the way of goal scoring chances. The removal of attacking threat Quintero, who was replaced by debutante Nicholas Janvier, nullified the offensive danger Rennes once had. Caen played the final few minutes out in a professional manner, keeping the ball for long periods and limiting any forward runs.

Next week Rennes are in cup action as they play Toulouse while Caen host the champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Normandy.

Costil; Danze, Mendes, Armand, M'Bengue; Doucoure, Andre; Grosicki, Quintero, Dembele; Sio

Vercoutre; Seube, Appiah, Ben Yousseff, Imorou, Da Silva, Delaplace, Feret, Delort, Bessat, Rodelin