Lepaul’s late penalty gives Rennes a 3-2 win over Le Mans

Rennes defeated Le Mans 3-2 at Roazhon Park on Sunday, August 30, securing the win after a five-goal Ligue 1 contest. Rennes led 2-1 at half-time, but Le Mans twice threatened to overturn the advantage before Esteban Lepaul’s late penalty settled the match.

Fast start and a response from Le Mans

Rennes took control in the fifth minute when Lepaul finished a move assisted by A. Thomasson. Valentin Rongier doubled the lead in the 26th minute, with I. Soumare providing the assist. Le Mans responded quickly, as Louis Mafouta scored six minutes later from an assist by Lucas Calodat to reduce the deficit before the interval.

Mafouta struck again in the 54th minute, converting a penalty to make it 2-2. The visitors then lost D. Sidibe to a red card in the 68th minute, a major turning point as Rennes had more space and numerical superiority late in the match. Rennes eventually received a penalty in the 90th minute, and Lepaul converted to complete his second goal and restore the hosts’ lead.

Rennes controlled the ball, but Le Mans carried a threat

The statistics showed Rennes directing the overall flow. Franck Haise’s 4-3-3 produced 64% possession, 497 total passes and 22 shots, compared with 36% possession, 281 passes and 12 shots for Patrick Videira’s Le Mans side, which used a 3-1-4-2 formation. Rennes also led shots on target 8-5 and corners 8-6.

However, the scoreline did not fully reflect the visitors’ attacking effectiveness. Le Mans recorded 2.98 expected goals to Rennes’ 2.66 and scored twice from five shots on target. Nicolas Kocik made five saves for Le Mans, while Rennes’ goalkeeper made three, underlining how the visitors remained dangerous despite spending less time with the ball. Both teams committed a similar number of fouls, with Rennes on 16 and Le Mans on 15.

Lepaul leads the decisive moments

Lepaul was the standout performer, receiving a match rating of 8.2. His two goals and four shots on target made the difference, while he also contributed two key passes. Rongier supported the victory with a goal, one shot on target and one key pass before being replaced by L. Blas in the 74th minute.

Rennes also brought on S. Szymanski and A. Nordin at half-time, while Le Mans made changes including J. Vercruysse and A. Rabillard. I. Soumare, A. Lauray, Lepaul, A. Ait Boudlal and H. Voyer received yellow cards. The result ends the drawn form listed for both teams: the supplied table had Rennes 13th and Le Mans 12th, each with one point from one game, while updated post-match positions are not provided.