Red-hot Rennes thrash struggling Nice to surge into Ligue 1's top five

[p]A thrilling first half saw [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rennes/d2nnj1IE/"]Rennes[/a] take the lead with the first shot of the game, [b]as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rongier-valentin/pQEvn0aK/"]Valentin Rongier[/a] cut back for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lepaul-esteban/GGw2OEMr/"]Esteban Lepaul[/a] to lash home. [/b][/p][p]That gave the visitors the springboard to dominate proceedings, [b]with Musa Tamaari striking over from the edge of the box shortly before squaring for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/szymanski-sebastian/QFdaT1Qr/"]Sebastian Szymanski[/a] to double Les Rouge et Noir’s advantage with a deflected effort.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nordin-arnaud/A7vSQTKq/"]Arnaud Nordin[/a] could have put Rennes even further ahead before the half-hour mark, dragging a shot wide from an acute angle prior to slipping at a vital moment in the area to allow [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diouf-yehvann/xCg7OFVE/"]Yehvann Diouf[/a] an easy save.[/p][p]However, against the run of play, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nice/YagoQJpq/"]Nice[/a] had the ball in the net with their first attempt of the match through a delicate finish from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sanson-morgan/n5LaWeHr/"]Morgan Sanson[/a].[/p][p]Ultimately, though, he was denied a sixth Ligue 1 goal contribution against Rennes, given [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cho-mohamed-ali/xOd4FVMQ/"]Mohamed-Ali Cho[/a] was offside in the build-up.[/p][p]The Eagles’ predicament then got worse when the visitors were awarded a penalty after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bard-melvin/Q1kigul6/"]Melvin Bard[/a] fouled Tamaari in the box, but Diouf was equal to Lepaul’s strike to keep his side in the game - although Tamaari headed in the rebound, Nice received another let off as it was ruled out due to encroachment.[/p][p]Both goalkeepers then made important saves to keep the score toward the end of the opening period. First, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/samba-brice/6L93gfZq/"]Brice Samba[/a] stopped Cho’s attempted lob before Diouf parried away a fierce Rongier strike.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="f5c5cc97-d41a-4809-9b2c-568c8f76b384" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="762ec4fa-9939-4b86-a205-f2ec4ed95cca" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Determined to get back into the game, the hosts made two changes at the break, and one of them, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/boudache-kail/phOFiSep/"]Kail Boudache[/a], saw his powerful drive tipped over by Samba.[/p][p]However, Rennes were still dangerous themselves and Tamaari, in particular, was desperate to get on the scoresheet after such an influential first-half performance.[/p][p]Nevertheless, Nice were on top after the interval and really should have halved the deficit when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kevin-carlos/zLSwIsl9/"]Kevin Carlos[/a] glanced a free header off target from close range. Then, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/louchet-tom/neBI4fSj/"]Tom Louchet[/a]’s acrobatic effort clipped the crossbar as Les Aiglons appeared to be close to halving the deficit.[/p][p]In response, though, Rennes made a triple substitution to freshen up the team, and it paid off as two of the replacements combined to seal all three points.[/p][p][b]While [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/embolo-breel/CpKkPKuP/"]Breel Embolo[/a] will be credited with the assist, the goal was all about [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blas-ludovic/Uwj8SaVP/"]Ludovic Blas[/a], who went on a mazy solo run before eventually cutting the ball back into the far corner. [/b][/p][p][b]Adding extra gloss to the scoreline, fellow sub Nordan Mukiele curled past a helpless Diouf in stoppage time in a win that sees Rennes break into the European places. [/b][/p][p]Nice, meanwhile, still linger just above the relegation zone after a seventh successive Ligue 1 game without a win (D4, L3) - only five points separate them from the play-off spot.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/al-tamari-mousa-suleiman/Y7pbUJA4/"]Musa Tamaari[/a] (Rennes)[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="6942ca94-7b88-44b2-b1da-6393209ff162" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="dee0b9a2-ffcd-4f65-80fc-92be0e3684e6" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nice-YagoQJpq/rennes-d2nnj1IE/summary/stats/?mid=tS3QJdko"]Check out the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]