PLAYER RATINGS | Rennes 3-1 Lyon: Les Gones concede their first defeat as Tyler Morton sees red | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 4, 14/09/25

Rennes have mounted an unlikely 15-minute comeback to inflict Lyon their first defeat of the Ligue 1 season. Les Gones surrendered control following Tyler Morton’s red card in the second half.

The Match

Rennes made their return to Roazhon Park since their now-famous 1-0 home win against Marseille on opening day, which ended with Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe exchanging blows in the away dressing room. Les Bretons hosted Lyon, who were the only team to match PSG’s 100% record in Ligue 1 this season.

Paulo Fonseca still had no proven centre-forward at his disposal as Martin Satriano builds his way back into match fitness. Like he did against Marseille before the international break, the Portuguese opted for a striker-less formation with the highly-promising Khalis Merah and the experienced Corentin Tolisso upfront as interchanging attacking midfielders.

Fonseca’s tactics bore fruit in the 14th minute. Adam Karabec was fed on the right wing face to his opposite number, Quentin Merlin. The Czech backheeled it for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, whose first-time cross found Tolisso, whose header fizzed to Brice Samba’s left. The former Bayern Munich midfielder scored his second goal of the Ligue 1 season.

Lyon were yet to concede a goal this season, but they were close to giving the hosts the equalizer. Maitland-Niles tried to avoid conceding a throw-in, but his backwards clearance was anticipated by Estéban Lepaul, whose attempt went just wide. Les Gones were also lacking a clinical edge. Rennes were indebted to a great double save from Brice Samba to deny Merah on the stroke of half-time.

Rennes’ switch to a back four, with Aït Boudlal and Przemislaw Frankowski shown the exit, clearly unsettled the visitors. Djaoui Cissé and Valentin Rongier sprang to life and Lyon were on the ropes. Les Gones could have made matters easier for themselves had Adam Karabec shown more determination to thwart Samba.

The game’s turning point occurred in the 75th minute, when Tyler Morton took out Kader Meïté with a challenge as reckless as it was needless. The Liverpool FC Academy product was shown a red card – a harsh decision, it should be said, as a yellow card would have sufficed. From there, Rennes cranked up the pressure, and Lyon fell apart.

Five minutes later, Rennes restored parity courtesy of Anthony Rouault, who got the final touch following a corner kick goalmouth scramble. The goal stood after a long VAR check, which meant the game went on for nine further minutes of stoppage time. With the momentum now firmly in Rennes’ favour and Lyon settling for an away draw, the game would be decided by Meïté.

The fearless 17-year-old dribbled past Ruben Kluivert with ease before firing past Rémy Descamps with a deflected effort. Two minutes later, the France youth international easily escaped the Dutchman’s rather lenient marking to double his side’s lead and send Roazhon Park into rapture. Lyon conceded their first defeat of the season, leaving PSG alone at the top. Les Gones will host Angers on Friday whereas Rennes will pay a visit to their bitter Brittany rivals Nantes.

Lyon player ratings

Rémy Descamps – 5

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 5

Clinton Mata – 5

Moussa Niakhaté – 4

Abner – 5

Tanner Tessmann – 6

Influential, confident and composed, the tireless Tessmann effortlessly greased the wheels of Lyon’s machine. No player recovered more balls than him

Tyler Morton – 4

The Liverpool FC Academy product had an excellent game – another one – until the final 15 minutes, when he recklessly took out Kader Meïté with a useless tackle. Five minutes later, Rennes equalised, and they went on to win.

Adam Karabec – 4

Khalis Merah – 4

Malick Fofana – 4

Corentin Tolisso – 6

The former Bayern Munich player has been one of the best midfielders in Ligue 1. He’s now arguably one of the overall best players in Ligue 1. The 2018 World Cup winner leads by example everywhere on the pitch, be it as a goal-scoring centre-forward or as a tireless midfielder.

Selected Rennes player ratings

Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal – 3

The right-sided centre-back returned to Rennes’ starting XI after picking up a red card against Marseille. He didn’t finish this game either, hooked by Habib Beye at half-time. The Moroccan looked a bit soft while being outmuscled by Tolisso for the latter’s opener.

Valentin Rongier – 5

Kader Meïté – 8

GFFN | Bastien Cheval