European qualification for Rennes was attained thanks to a strong comeback after a poor start to the season. Indeed, the Bretons finished the term one of France’s most in-form sides.
The season began under the guidance of Christian Gourcuff but, while he has enjoyed success elsewhere, that never arrived during this stint with Rennes. Indeed, when he departed them, they were hovering just a couple of spots above the relegation zone.
By that stage, however, it was clear that Rennes were a side on the up. They had won four matches in succession, and those were only by a single goal, they had started to play better.
Sabri Lamouchi took over and continued the improvement; by Christmas they were up to seventh. While the second half of the campaign was riddled with draws, losses were few and far between, with a burst of three successive wins over April and May, including away to PSG, allowed them to reach Europe again next term.
While it was a good campaign overall, Rennes will be a touch disappointed that they were unable to find a regular scorer. Wahbi Khazri was regularly used as a false 9 to good effect, while towards the end of the campaign Adrien Hunou proved to be surprisingly effective in that position. They did, however, an effective alternative.
Ismaila Sarr did not live up to expectation, showing little of the form that attracted Barcelona last summer, but Benjamin Bourigeaud more than made up for that. Meanwhile, Jeremy Gelin and Joris Gnagnon were both excellent in the centre of the defence.
Rennes have a promising young side and, if they can keep it together, they will fancy their chances of making a run even higher up the league next term. The foundations are there for a promising future at Roazhon Park.
