PLAYER RATINGS | Rennes 1-2 Lille: Les Dogues leap to 5th in tight European race | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 26, 15/03/2026

It was an important clash in the race for Europe as 6th-place Stade Rennais hosted 7th-place Lille OSC. Victory for either side would be enough to leapfrog AS Monaco and end the weekend in fifth with a tighter grip on the UEFA Europa League position in this exceedingly close race. 

The Match

Lille have been far from prolific since the start of 2026, but they would be on the scoresheet within two minutes when Nathan Ngoy spotted the run of Matias Fernandez-Pardo. The Belgian, played onside by Mahamadou Nagida, was slipped through on goal and tucked his shot past Brice Samba for the early lead. 

It could have been two when Thomas Meunier met Hákon Arnar Haraldsson’s free kick. The fullback couldn’t make a sweet enough connection, and the ball spun low where Samba could make the block. Les Dogues bright start slowly began to fade as fatigue set in, for a team that had been in action during the week against Aston Villa. 

Rennes showed signs of life late in the half. Anthony Roualt was left unmarked in the box from Ludovic Blas’s free kick, Ayyoub Bouaddi, spotting the danger late. However, the centre-back couldn’t get his effort on target. Mousa Al-Tamari, similarly, hit a stinging shot from distance, but it veered wide off the near post. 

The half-time break came at an inopportune time for Rennes, who finally felt as if they were building some momentum. They came out swinging, but were rocked by a counter from Les Dogues. Fernandez-Pardo played creator, picking up the ball on the edge of his box before storming down the right wing and setting up Haraldsson for the tap-in at the far post. 

Around the hour mark, Rennes would get their foot back in the game. Arnaud Nordin, who had been having a quiet game, showed a delightful bit of control with his chest before he tried to create some space from Ngoy to fire off his shot. The Lille defender would manage to block the chance, but the ball took a fortunate deflection and fell to Esteban Lepaul, who showed his poacher’s instinct to finish. 

Lille sat deep for the remainder of the game, looking to soak up pressure and hit Les Rouge et Noir on the break as they looked to hold on to all three points. Rennes would have chances, with Mahdi Camara, in particular, coming close. However, the final whistle would bring Lille relief as they inflicted Franck Haise’s first defeat as head coach of Rennes.

Rennes Player Ratings

Brice Samba, 5

Quentin Merlin, 4

Lilian Brassier, 5

Anthony Rouault, 5

Mahamadou Nagida, 4

The fullback was at fault for the first goal, playing Fernandez-Pardo onside. He didn’t do too much wrong after this, a few errors, and picked up a yellow card. However, the lapse in concentration was enough to put Rennes in trouble from the 2nd minute. 

Mahdi Camara, 6

Valentin Rongier, 5

Not as assured as usual. The midfielder made a few sloppy passes in the middle of the park. 

Ludovic Blas, 4

His first start in the league since the 2-1 defeat to OGC Nice back in late October. He was nominally a midfielder, but played most of the game as an auxiliary centre-forward, pushing up alongside Lepaul. It didn’t really work and felt like it upset the balance of the midfield. He looked better when Al-Tamari was taken off, and he could take up the spot on the right of the attack. 

Arnaud Nordin, 5

He was uninvolved for the first half, and then sparked to life in the second. He looked particularly lively in the ten minutes before he was taken off. 

Esteban Lepaul, 6

Mousa Al-Tamari, 5

Lille Player Ratings

Berke Özer, 5

Calvin Verdonk, 5

Aïssa Mandi, 6

Nathan Ngoy, 7

His assist set the tempo for an impressive game. He made a vital block on Camara in the second half to keep Lille in the lead. He’s been one of Les Dogues best performers since the start of the year, and tonight was no exception. 

Thomas Meunier, 6

Nabil Bentaleb, 6

Ayyoub Bouaddi, 7

The midfielder was in his pomp tonight. An excellent performance, winning the battle in the centre of the pitch. He had a brilliant read of the game and hoovered up loose possession. He worked brilliantly in tandem with Bentaleb. 

Félix Correia, 5

Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, 5

In the first half, he looked out of sorts. He made strange decisions and looked out of sync with his teammates. He struggled with ball retention. It was a much-improved performance after the break. He’s looked in 2026 like a player weighed down by pressure. Little has worked for him in recent months. However, the goal looked as if it took a lot of pressure off his back, and afterwards, he was freed up to be the player that we had become used to seeing in the first half of the season. 

Ngal’ayel Mukau, 5

Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 7

The kind of performance the Lillois have been waiting for. The forward exuded a sense of calm tonight. He can come under criticism for often making the wrong decision at the wrong time, but that was absent this evening. The example of the kind of mobile striker that Lille have been crying out for since Hamza Igamane’s injury. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland