(Football news) Though only the section winners will be allowed to advance straight to the round of 16, both teams, Villarreal and Rennes have already guaranteed their spots in the competition’s knockout stages.
For the second time this season, Rennes has already lost their first two games in Ligue 1 after Monaco defeated them all three points on Saturday night at Roazhon Park. Adi Hutter’s team’s goals came from Vanderson and Youssouf Fofana in the second half.
After finishing in fourth place in the French top flight in the 2022–23 season, which qualified Rennes for the Europa League, Julien Stephan’s team had a miserable start to domestic affairs this season, finishing 13th out of 15 games played and winning just three of them.
The Reds and Blacks’ fortunes have been considerably better on the continent; the French team is presently leading its Europa League group after accumulating 12 points from the first five matchdays, which included a convincing 3-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa, the bottom team, on November 30.
Rennes, known for producing some of the best players in Europe, saw some of the biggest teams in the world attack their ranks in the summer. Jeremy Doku, a Belgium international, secured a lucrative move for £62 million to join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The Ligue 1 team has relied on the goals of a midfielder who has never played professional football outside of France, Benjamin Bourigeaud, a former Lens creator who has made 15 league appearances and scored four goals and provided two assists. A number of prominent players left during the summer transfer window.
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