Franck Haise did not celebrate Rennes’ second goal against Auxerre. Adrien Thomasson’s 53rd-minute strike put his side back in front, but the Rennes coach remained rigid on the touchline, still carrying the anger of a first half he felt had fallen well below the required level.
Rennes eventually ran out 4-1 winners on the sixth Ligue 1 matchday, turning a troubled evening into an emphatic result. Yet the final score concealed a half-time dressing-room intervention that Haise described as one of his most forceful in recent months.
Quick facts
- Rennes beat Auxerre 4-1 in Ligue 1’s sixth round.
- Estéban Lepaul opened the scoring before Auxerre levelled.
- Adrien Thomasson restored Rennes’ lead in the 53rd minute.
- Brice Samba denied Romain Faivre in the 33rd minute.
- Djaoui Cissé made his first appearance of the season, while Boulaye Dia also made an impact from the bench.
- Rennes face OFI Crete in the Europa League on Thursday.
Lepaul had given Rennes an early advantage, but Auxerre found their way back into the contest and repeatedly played through the home midfield and defence. Samba’s save from Faivre shortly after the half-hour was especially important; Auxerre could have gone into the interval ahead.
Haise believed his team lacked both balance and intensity, while their attacking play had become short of movement and ideas. Defensive discipline was also missing, prompting a stern response once the players returned to the dressing room.
“We got a proper telling-off,” Dia said afterwards. “He shouted. I cannot remember every word, but the message was that we needed to play our football, be brave and show technical superiority. That is what we did after the break.”
Haise said the break began with a short video review before he delivered the message himself. “It had been a while since I had gone that far,” he admitted, his voice showing the strain of the night. “We watched five or six clips first. There was the visual part, but it also needed the verbal part.”
Bench options change the rhythm
Thomasson’s goal altered the match. Rennes increased the pressure in midfield, controlled possession more securely and gradually removed the uncertainty that had marked the opening period.
The substitutes helped drive that shift. Dia offered more presence in attack, while Cissé provided fresh energy in midfield on his first outing of the campaign. The young midfielder had been expected to leave during the summer window but remained at the club, giving Haise another possible solution in the middle.
Quentin Merlin and Arnaud Nordin were not involved, remaining in the stands, underlining the competition for places before Thursday’s Europa League meeting with OFI Crete. Haise will hope that internal pressure raises the level across his squad rather than merely adding selection headaches.
The response was particularly significant after Rennes’ previous league setback, a 4-0 defeat at Lyon before the international break. Haise had been unable to change the direction of that match after making too many alterations to his side.
Against Auxerre, he found the reaction he wanted. Rennes still have lessons to absorb from an uneven first half, but the recovery after the interval offered a sharper sign of resilience as they seek to remain among Ligue 1’s leading teams.
