In Rennes, Olympique Lyonnais, faithful to his initial strategy, aligned the same composition as on the occasion of his previous Olympic victory. The team, devoid of a real number 9, relied on an attack made up of Khalis Merahet, Corentin Tolisso and other players playing at the cutting edge. Corentin Tolisso opened the score in the 14th minute, followed by a superb center of Ainley Maitland-Nileset taken over by Brice Samba. Despite a missed opportunity by Khalis Merahet before half-time, OL controlled the first period. The second half was more difficult, with missed opportunities, notably by Adam Karabeci. A decisive turning point comes at the 75th minute with the expulsion of Tyler Morton, following a mistake on a Rennes player. Despite fierce resistance, OL conceded an equalizer at the 80th minute and suffered a triple Meïté at the end of the game, finally bowing 3-1.

Paulo Fonseca’s tactical choices for this trip to Brittany were aimed at maintaining positive momentum after a promising first part of the season. The team was reinforced by key players such as Malick Fofana, Adam Karabeci and Corentin Tolisso in attack, as well as Khalis Merahet as a midfield start. Defendants such as Moussa Niakhate and Abner were present, while Rémy Descamps kept the cages. Clinton Mata, a central defender, expressed his disappointment at this first defeat, stressing the importance of mentality and the ability to tighten teeth in difficult times. He also severely criticized the arbitral decision concerning the expulsion of Morton.

Corentin Tolisso, too, commented on the defeat, recognizing that Rennes had changed its game system, unbalanced OL. He stressed the need to remain defensively strong, even to 10 players, and to learn from this experience. He stressed that the work done so far should not be called into question and that the team should continue to fight for home matches. Olympique Lyonnais is now preparing to welcome Angers for the 5th day of Ligue 1, with the will to recover after this disappointment.