Stade Rennais – Olympique de Marseille: Ten Man Rennes Steal The Show (1-0)

Ligue 1 kicked off with Olympique de Marseille travelling to the Roazhon Park to face Stade Rennais. Marseille would be handed the advantage when the 19-year-old debutant Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal was sent off early in the first half, but could not deliver, and instead were left stunned by a 90th-minute smash-and-grab winner.

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

Stade Rennais were one of the big disappointments last season as they struggled with a bloated squad that looked barely up to the task of remaining in the league. The arrival of head coach Habib Beye in January (their third permanent appointment after Julien Stéphan and Jorge Sampaoli) helped change this narrative, and in his first full season, there is hope that the club will be back challenging for Europe.

The target for Olympique de Marseille has been clear. After a season where they were the best of the rest but far behind league winners and arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain, the gap needs to be closed. The club are not yet dreaming of winning their first Ligue 1 title in 15 years, but they did come into this curtain raiser hoping to at least make it a tighter race than the last two seasons. 

Beye went with a 3-5-2 formation. Brice Samba started in goal with Anthony Rouault, Jérémy Jacquet, and Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal in defense. There were some familiar faces for Marseille as wing-back Quentin Merlin and midfielder Valentin Rongier made their debut after . . .