«No mitigating circumstances»

- No particular tension between the supporters :
Naturally, the usual derby atmosphere allows a reasonable amount of banter, and it has to be constated that the Brest supporters – who for once exchanged the usual gwen ha du (black and white) flag with a gwen ha ruz (white and red) matching their colours made the best of it.
Around the stadium however, very little trouble. According to Le Télégramme, only two supporters (one on each side) in a state of drunkenness were arrested by the police and barred from entering the stadium.

- Lemoine starting again :
Preferred to Stéphane Dalmat (who eventually replaced him at half time), Fabien Lemoine was included in the starting eleven this Saturday evening. A fact to note at it was the only the second time the Rennes midfielder started a game in Ligue 1 (he came off the bench eight times) since he returned to competitive football after having his right kidney removed. Lemoine had not started a game since February 26th and the victory against Lens (2-0).

- Thirty years without a victory at Francis-Le Blé :
True, there hasn’t been many confrontations between Brest and Rennes in the Finistère (nine in total). The last victory for the “Rouge et Noir” at the Stade Francis-Le Blé, however, dates back to the 1980-1981 season. Then in D2, Stade Rennes won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Robert Llorens. Since then, Rennes has recorded three draws and two defeats, with a last game in 1990.

- The first time for Danzé :
Replaced by Samuel Souprayen at the 58th minute this Saturday, Romain Danzé had until then the particularity to have played every minute of every single Stade Rennais game in the league this season. This made him, with Auxerre’s Adama Coulibaly, the most-used Ligue 1 player. A run which was therefore ended on the pitch of the stade Francis-Le Blé,, during the thirtieth game week.

- Douchez angry against Roux at half time :
Strange scenes during the return to the dressing room at half time. Nicolas Douchez came to verbally attack Brest’s Nolan Roux, for yet unexplained reasons. An unusual reaction from a usually very calm player.
The reaction of anger didn’t trigger any reaction from Roux, who remained silent throughout the scene, while defender Brahim Ferradj came to react to Rennes goalkeeper’s attitude. After the two players were kept apart, everyone came back to the dressing room without any additional clash.

- Rennes don’t shoot on target :
Two shots on target in three games. This is the bleak assessment of Rennes’ attacking performances over the last games in Lyon (1-1), against Auxerre (0-0) and in Brest (2-0)… for a total of 15 shots. With thirty goals scored this season, Stade Rennes is only the twelfth attack in Ligue 1.
Despite the below-par recent results, the club remains the best defence in the league. Having conceded 23 goals, Rennes is three units ahead of Olympique de Marseille.

- Brest not the same with Nolan Roux :
The performances of Stade Rennes are significantly suffering with the many injuries. Looking at the half-dozen of players missing in the ranks of their opponents on the night, Brest can themselves testify for the difficulty to play without some key-players.
The best example is Nolan Roux, injured at the end of December and only returning this early April. With their striker, the Stade Brestois have earned an average 1.6 point per match since the beginning of the season. Without him, the results are much less convincing with only 0.7 point per match (source: Opta for L’Équipe).
The figures are confirmed by the reaction of Alex Dupont after the game. “I’ve always thought that with him, Brest is much stronger, the Brest manager affirmed. With him, we are more confident”. Against Rennes, the young striker has scored one of the most stunning goals in this Ligue 1 season, with a superb shot from thirty five metres.

- Rennes equal their worst run :
This season, Stade Rennes hasn’t done worse. This is the second time Frédéric Antonetti’s team plays four consecutive games without winning, since this defeat in Brest follows two draws against Auxerre (0-0) and Lyon (1-1) and a home defeat to Marseille (0-2). During the first half-season, Rennes had conceded two draws (in Lens and against Lyon) and two defeats (against Montpellier and in Auxerre).

- Guyot praises his players :
While Kenny Dalglish had come to the stade Francis-Le Blé to watch Nicolas Douchez (and Yann M’Vila?), the Liverpool manager is likely to have been more impressed by the performances of the Brest players rather by those of the Rennais.
This is at least what Brest president Michel Guyot thought, who used it to praise the qualities of his team. “Looking at this game, we are not in our place, the president said to the media. There were people from Liverpool who came to watch players from Rennes, they probably saw more of Grougi and Lesoimier than they saw of the Rennais”. Probably hoping to hold on to his young striker for as long as he can, Michel Guyot probably voluntarily forgot to mention Nolan Roux.

- Antonetti criticises his players and admits his mistakes :
After the game, the trend was to self-criticism for the Rennais, with Frédéric Antonetti talking of a team “completely absent, always on the wrong foot, late”. For the first time this season, the Rennes manager decided to change two players at half-time, admitting his choices at midfield weren’t right. “When you can do two, you could do five, the Rennes manager explained. I tried to bring in some fresh legs and it didn’t work. You can’t single out individuals. At half time, I should not do any substitutions”.
Disappointed with the lacklustre performance of his players, Antonetti didn’t look for excuses. “Tonight, there are no mitigating circumstances. None, the manager admitted. I’m not angered but disappointed. We are not allowed to lose games like this. I failed there. When a coach changes two players at half-time, it means he was wrong, that’s all”.

- Source for interviews : L’Équipe.