Estéban Lepaul’s Brest brace puts Rennes striker joint top in Ligue one scoring race | OneFootball

Estéban Lepaul’s brace of penalties earned Rennes a 4-3 win at Brest on Saturday and lifted him to 16 Ligue one goals, level with Joaquin Panichelli at the top of the chart. Panichelli will not play again this season after a rupture of the right anterior cruciate ligament, with Mason Greenwood his closest chaser on 15.

He was second-choice from the spot but Ludovic Blas deferred both times, and Lepaul beat Grégoire Coudert on 35 minutes for 2-1, then on 73 after a foul on Mousa Al-Tamari to make it 4-3. Brest tried to rattle him, so he went the other way with his second. L'Équipe notes he had not converted a penalty this season, having missed at Nice in the 4-0 on eight March.

His tally includes 15 for Rennes, and he and Amine Gouiri are the only players this century to hit 15 in a first season in red and black. He could also become the club’s first Ligue one top scorer since Alexandre Frei in 2004-05, who scored 20.

Lepaul said the standings are not his main concern and emphasised that team graft brings the rewards. Blas felt letting him take the penalties supported the striker’s shot at the individual prize.

Sporting director Loïc Désiré said Lepaul’s output is no surprise, citing scoring runs at Epinal, Orléans and Angers and a haul of 29 in his last 56 matches. Lepaul turns 26 on 18 April.

Asked about a France call-up, he said it is not on the agenda while he targets more goals and a European place. On the night Franck Haise switched to a four-four-two to reintroduce Breel Embolo and, although Rennes were pegged back after missing chances at 2-1 and then conceded twice through errors by Brice Samba and Alidu Seidu, the league’s fourth-best attack, with a third of its goals from Lepaul, found a way. The result revived their European push after two matches without a win before the break.

Source: L'Équipe