Bryan Reynolds got his first Ligue 1 start over the weekend, picking up two assists, while Mark McKenzie and Folarin Balogun shared the points in their clash.
Rennes 4 – 1 Auxerre
Bryan Reynolds finally got called upon to start for Rennes since arriving in the summer. To thank the coach for the selection, he provided the assist on the goal that turned out to be the game-winner against Auxerre.
The boys from Brittany made easy work of their visitors by putting four past them, with a spectacular goal getting the scoring underway after just 15 minutes. A long ball over the top from Charlie Cresswell was struck on the volley by Esteban Lepaul, who just made his debut for France during the recent international break. It was his fourth of the season. Auxerre, however, got back on level terms 10 minutes later when Englishman Cameron Archer found the back of the net.
Eight minutes after the restart, Reynolds’ ball hit from about 25 yards out found the head of Adrien Thomasson, who directed it past the stunned keeper. It was all the goals needed to collect the points, but Boulaye Dia scored his first goal of the season two minutes into stoppage time. Two minutes later, he did it again, and again it was a Reynolds assist.
Third-place Rennes will head to the capital over the weekend to take on Paris FC, but first they’ll host OFI Crete in Europa League action midweek.
Monaco 2 – 2 Toulouse
It was something of a Battle of the Yanks when Mark McKenzie and Toulouse left France for the Principality of Monaco to take on AS Monaco. McKenzie started and finished the game that ended with the teams sharing a point, but Folarin Balogun spent the majority of the game on the bench. The quasi-exiled striker came onto the field in the 58th minute, only his second appearance this season.
As the old saying goes, it was a game of two halves. The first 45 minutes belonged to the hosts, with them scoring twice before the break. Edan Diop got his first of the season, having recently come back from a long-term injury, just before the half-hour mark. Nine minutes later it was 2-0, thanks to Matthis Abline’s strike that was assisted by Diop.
The second half was all Toulouse’s, who fought back from a two-goal deficit to earn a point on the road thanks to goals from Casper Tengstedt three minutes after the restart, from the penalty spot, followed by Sion Oppong’s on the hour mark.
Monaco head to Bulgaria to take on CSKA Sofia before returning home to face Loiret, while Toulouse head to LeMans.
Notes
Tanner Tessmann got to play the last 13 minutes when Lyon headed north to take on RC Lens in the former French coal mining district. The American continues to be overlooked when it comes to league action, where he has only played for 51 minutes over six games.
The trip was a wasted one as they fell 2-1, so they returned home with no points despite playing a man up towards the end after Florian Sotoca was shown a red card. Third-place Lyon will look to get back to winning ways when they host Nice on Sunday. Before that, however, they’ll be hosting Premier League side Crystal Palace in Europa League action. Tessmann has been a regular starter for the team in Europe.
Gio Reyna started on the bench for Strasbourg when they headed to the French Riviera to take on OGC Nice on Sunday afternoon. He came on in the 63rd minute with the score tied at one each. A late Nice goal denied the Alsatians a point in the end. They’ll be at it again this weekend when they host PSG.
Tim Weah is serving a red card suspension, so he missed out on Marseille’s 2-0 road win over Troyes. Next up is an Europa League game vs Olympiacos, followed by a weekend clash at Angers.
Battle of the Yanks sees both Balogun and McKenzie pick up a point after their two all-draw. It’s still pretty tight with Weah, Tessmann and Reynolds on 3 points, followed by McKenzie and Balogun with 1. Reyna has no points yet.
| Player | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Weah | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Tanner Tessmann | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Gio Reyna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark McKenzie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Folarin Balogun | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |