Stade Rennes played host to Bordeaux in this Friday evening Ligue 1 encounter. Rennes were in search of a win after a slight drop in form that coincided with some difficult Champions League defeats at the hands of Sevilla and Chelsea, whilst Bordeaux were looking to push on into the battle for the top half after a topsy turvy season thus far. After some early chances for both sides, the match settled down into a midfield battle with openings hard to come by, but it was veteran Bordeaux attacking midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa who broke the deadlock after some fine footwork and a precise finish from the edge of the area. For the remainder of the match, Bordeaux sat increasingly deeper but defended solidly and were able to keep out an evermore desperate Rennes strike force. The final result of 1-0 will have delighted the away side, whilst Rennes will be disappointed to slip to another defeat as they resume their European campaign in midweek.
Rennes set up in a 4-2-3-1 system, but without the youthful attacking freedom of the likes of Gboho and Doku, they failed to create much in the final third, only having two shots on target in the entire match. Terrier and Tait were unable to have any impact on the game, whilst Guirassy was left to feed off scraps as the lone striker. They had a couple of good opportunities from set pieces, with central defender Aguerd missing a guilt-edged chance in the first half, however, in the end they didn’t really create enough to warrant the three points, and they will be looking for better performances in the coming weeks which could be key to their season.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Player profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 20/11/2001
- Current Club: Stade Rennais
- Career: Stade Rennais
- Position: Left Back
- Secondary Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Youngster Adrien Truffert lined up at left back in this game and put in an uneventful, yet solid performance that pointed to a bright future. He seemed capable defensively, timing his tackles effectively to put a foot in and regain possession, whilst he hassled the winger away from goal and kept his opposite number (Zerkane) very quiet throughout, apart from on one occasion where he allowed the winger to cut inside and get a shot off from distance. At just 5’9 and with a slim build, the defender is not very capable in the air, and he could improve upon his positioning to ensure he doesn’t get caught under the ball and allow the opponent to get a run on him when challenging for aerial duels. The 19 year old’s reading of the game was to a decent standard, however, as is often the case with young defenders, he was occasionally quite naive in the challenge and as a result conceded a couple of needless fouls in bad areas.
Truffert seemed happy to get forward and support the attack, showing a decent turn of pace to drive infield or make overlapping runs. His control was good and allowed him to comfortably carry the ball before finding passes to teammates, and he did so very effectively on a couple of occasions by drawing defenders towards him whilst driving infield before finding teammates in space back out wide and continuing his run into the penalty area to create an overload. His passing was fairly accurate and decisive, finishing the game with an 83% completion rate, however, he needed to work on his final ball and lacked a bit of composure in the final third. Having got into some good areas to make crosses or have a shot, he sometimes rushed it and failed to find teammates or made an error in his technique which saw the ball sail wide of the intended target.
The young Frenchman showed enough to display his potential, and Rennes will hope he has a bright future and can step up this season with Maouassa out injured and Dalbert struggling to settle into life in France. As he gains more first team experience, Truffert will need to cut out some needless flaws in his game whilst adding more quality when going forward, but he certainly has the basics needed to develop into a good player.
Rating: B2
Player profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 21/02/2002
- Current Club: Stade Rennais
- Career: Stade Rennais
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Similarly to Truffert, Soppy had a fairly quiet game before being replaced after an hour had been played. The young defender was aggressive and strong in the tackle, and sought to be decisive when challenging for possession. Although by attempting to quickly and efficiently win back possession, Soppy did show a tendency to dive in and overcommit which resulted in him being beaten once or twice. He was not afraid to battle for the ball and put his weight about in an effort to regain or retain possession even when under intense pressure, he did so by showing good game intelligence to use his body to get between man and ball and use his low centre of gravity to maintain his balance and stand his ground. At 5’11 and with a solid build, the 18 year old is physically capable of competing, whilst his turn of pace allowed him to make good recovery runs. He did occasionally seem unsure of his positioning and when the likes of Kalu drove inside, he was unsure whether to track him or pass him onto the midfielders to mark.
Soppy didn’t get forward that often, and although he showed glimpses of his capability on the ball and displayed some good touches and overlapping runs, he needed to work on his end product and take more care when in possession. The 18 year old allowed some sloppy passes to go wayward of the intended target and he rarely looked like creating much from wide areas. In previous matches, I have been impressed by Soppy’s attacking qualities, but in this game he lacked the quality required to consistently be a threat.
Overall, it was a solid yet unremarkable display from Soppy, who has competition from the more experienced Hamari Traoré for that right back slot, but with more European football still to be played, Soppy will likely continue to get opportunities to impress and he is certainly an exciting prospect at just 18.
Rating: B2