Rennes’ Bruno Genesio after Lens loss: “We played with the handbrake on.”

Rennes fell to defeat at home against Lens on Saturday night, in one of Ligue 1 gameweek 29’s headline fixtures. Belgian international striker Loïs Openda scored the only goal of the game at the half-hour mark. Lens’ opener followed a long period of domination from the visitors, leaving Les Rouge et Noir outplayed and under sustained pressure. “In the first 30 minutes, we forgot many things“, assessed Rennes’ manager Bruno Genesio in his post-game press conference that L’Equipe attended. “We played with the handbrake on.“

The former Lyon manager took a gamble when he fielded the same 3-4-3 formation that worked wonders against PSG before the international break. However, it had quickly backfired against Lens’ intense counter-pressing and tactical discipline. “We’re failing to find our groove back, but I don’t think our tactical formation is in question“, shrugged Genesio.

The Rennes head coach has accepted it will take close to a miracle for the Bretons to climb back in the Champions League qualifying spots with nine games left. “We need to be realistic, we are ten points behind Lens and Marseille. We will focus on the objective of qualifying for a European competition.” With Lille winning at home against Lorient on Sunday, Rennes are now sixth and out of the qualifying spots for European competition.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval