Rennes endured an up-and-down season but reached the Conference League next season thanks to a sixth-place finish, which came about due to a strong end to the campaign.
They started the campaign very well but ran into trouble when they were forced to juggle European commitments with those in Ligue 1. It was at that point they found their squad stretched, with the investment they had made over the summer not sufficient to compete on both fronts. As such, they excelled on neither and finished bottom of their Champions League group.
Although they recovered from that blip before Christmas, they had another slump in early 2021, which saw the end of talented boss Julien Stephan, who chose to quit. In came Bruno Genesio to re-energise the side and, by the end of the season they were flying high once more.
Martin Terrier, particularly, benefitted from the new head coach, finding his best form after a somewhat disappointing season to that point, while young Belgium winger Jeremy Doku settled into French football nicely after scoring his first goal in mid-March. It was a longer wait than Rennes wanted, though.
Serhou Guirassy, their new centre-forward, finished the season with a creditable 13 goals, though again Rennes would have wished for a little more.
Meanwhile, the midfield did not fire to its full capacity, with key players Eduardo Camavinga and Steven Nzonzi somewhat disappointing by their high standards. Clement Grenier and Flavien Tait played cameos, but Benjamin Bourigeaud was their key figure in that sector.
The defence was also a little hot and cold, particularly in the left-back slot, which was never held down by any one player. Nayef Aguerd was a strong addition from Dijon at centre-back while Damien Da Silva was rugged as usual.
In goal, meanwhile, Alfred Gomis was another new addition and, while he was ultimately satisfactory, he was not as strong as Edouard Mendy, who went to Chelsea and became a European champion.
Nevertheless, Rennes retain the core of a good squad and have the potential to build towards a top-five finish next season.
