Ligue 1 Review | Franck Haise’s Rennes Renaissance fuels Champions League hopes

Perfect timing for Franck Haise and Rennes

Since taking over from Habib Beye in mid-February, Haise has overseen a record of eight wins, one draw, and one defeat; form that has the club up to fifth in the table and only a point behind Olympique Lyonnais and Lille OSC in third and fourth, respectively. The podium and Champions League qualification is in sight for Les Rouge et Noirs, particularly with the side set for a clash with Lyon on Sunday evening. 

It’s not been lost on the supporters that Haise has helped Rennes to overtake Olympique de Marseille, a side now coached by his predecessor. To the Rennes faithful, who were never particularly won over by the ex-Senegalese international, they believe that the club went for an upgrade when their patience with Beye finally snapped. 

It’s certainly true that they’ve gone from a manager with no former top-flight experience to one who has helped reestablish RC Lens as a force in Ligue 1, and for at least one season, had Nice flying high. Perhaps there are a few around the Stade Vélodrome who wonder why they went for Beye over Haise when Roberto De Zerbi walked away. 

Derby Breton reminds Rennes to stay humble

Despite the run of positive results, a 2-1 win over FC Nantes in the Derby Breton was far from plain sailing for Haise’s Rennes on Sunday afternoon. After going ahead courtesy of Esteban Lepaul’s 8th-minute penalty, his 18th goal of the season as Ligue 1’s top scorer, Rennes faded. Les Rouge et Noirs let their foot off the gas, allowing their local rivals to grow into a game they desperately needed to win to fan even the smallest hopes that they might avoid relegation.  

A wonder strike from Ignatius Ganago in the 40th minute would level the scores, and open the match up into an end-to-end affair. It would take until the 2nd minute of added time for the former favourite son of Les Canaris to down his boyhood club, with Valentin Rongier poaching a rare goal to secure Rennes all three points and their fourth win in a row. 

For Haise, it was a result to bring his team back down to earth and remind them that there is still work to be done in the final three games of the season. As he stated in his post-match comments, “We’re in the fight for Europe, but there are three tough matches left to reach our goal… We need to be reminded of our humility by this game against Nantes. We’re in the race, but it’s our performances, the consistency in our performances, that will be decisive.”

Haise’s Rennes Renaissance is built on lessons learnt from his time at Nice. Success is fragile, and all too swiftly it can all come crashing down if you take your eye off the ball.

This week’s Ligue 1 sub-plots

• Nantes are staring down the barrel of a historic third relegation. It’s hard not to look at the way in which the club has churned through managers since Waldermar Kita took over the club in 2007 as one of the root causes for the current instability. Read the full story HERE.

• RC Lens’s title ambitions took a significant blow on Friday evening away as they fought back to secure a 3-3 draw with Stade Brestois. The point was well earned after a disastrous first half, but a point feels like it is not enough to keep the pressure on Paris Saint-Germain. Read how it happened HERE.

• Marseille’s struggles continued on Sunday evening as they were forced to share the points with relegation-threatened OGC Nice. It was the returning figure of Elye Wahi, who dealt Les Phocéens a big blow to their Champions League hopes. Read the full match report HERE.

GFFN | Nick Hartland