Chaotic Rennes set Ligue 1 red card record and lose 4-0 at Lorient

A week after winning their Ligue 1 opener with 10 men, Rennes played almost the whole game at Lorient on Sunday with nine, but this time lost 4-0.

"We need aggression," said Rennes coach Habib Beye. "Last year we didn't have enough, now we have too much."

The trouble for Rennes once again started before kickoff.

Last week, central defender Mikayil Faye overslept and missed the season-opening win over Marseille in which another defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal was sent off and was suspended for Sunday's game.

With right-back Przemyslaw Frankowski injured, Mousa Al-Tamari was due to take over at wing-back. But the Jordanian arrived late for a pre-match meeting and was dropped by Beye.

Mahdi Camara, a summer arrival from Saint-Etienne, stepped in for his Rennes debut. It lasted four minutes.  

Camara caught Lorient's Dermane Karim in the head with his boot and was sent off.

In the 10th minute, Christopher Wooh, the last defender, brought down Aiyegun Tosin who was running in on goal. Wooh was sent off.  

He had come off the bench the previous week when Ait Boudlal saw red in the 31st minute.

"Unfortunately, both red cards were deserved," said Beye.

Statistical service Opta said its Ligue 1 records went back to 1992 and it could find no previous instance of two players from the same team being sent off so soon after the opening whistle.

- 'No control' -

Rennes almost opened the scoring when Seko Fofana hit the angle of the crossbar and post in the 21st minute.

After an hour's practice playing short-handed last week, the nine men held out until the fourth minute of first-half added time when Sambou Soumano gave the hosts the lead. 

The visitors then unravelled. Tosin added a second two minutes into the second half, Pablo Pagis struck in the 65th minute and Theo Le Bris pounced four minutes later.

"Once we were down to nine men, it was a match we could no longer control, a match where we unfortunately had to shut up shop, where we could no longer have any control over anything," said Beye.

Last week's Rennes win provoked a brawl in the Marseille changing room that led to the south coast club initially showing red cards to two of its own players.

After the fight, between star French international Adrien Rabiot and English winger Jonathan Rowe, the club said they had put both players up for sale. 

The English winger left on Sunday, bought by Bologna in Serie A. 

Star midfielder Rabiot may be forgiven.

"He made a mistake, but I hope there is a chance we can put things back together. I am not going to close the door on anyone," coach Roberto De Zerbi said after a 5-2 victory at Paris FC on Saturday which improved the mood at Marseille. 

Later on Sunday, Toulouse and Strasbourg continued their winning starts to the season.

Cameroon international Frank Magri struck twice in 13 minutes in the second half as Toulouse beat Brest 2-0. 

Strasbourg captain Emanuel Emegha came off the bench at half-time to score the only goal in the 81st minute as they beat Nantes 1-0.  

In a meeting of first round losers, Lens won a penalty with their first attack in Le Havre which Wesley Said converted in the ninth minute. 

Said then set up teenager Rayan Fofana in the 40th minute for the visitors' second. Fode Doucoure hit back with a deflected shot in first-half added time but Lens held out to win 2-1.

European champions Paris Saint-Germain made it two wins from two to start the season by beating Angers 1-0 on Friday thanks to a Fabian Ruiz goal.

pb/dmc/nf