He might say before the match that it was only Strasbourg that came to Rennes and “nothing else”. But Julien Stéphan knew full well that his reunion with his former club would be a special moment for him.
Before the kick-off this Sunday afternoon, the coach of Racing Club de Strasbourg was, as one might expect, to be acclaimed by all of Roazhon Park. “It is a beautiful tribute which touched me necessarily, recognized the coach at the end of the meeting. We don’t have time to enjoy it a lot, but in a career it’s rare, I won’t forget ”.
Stade Rennais-Strasbourg: “He marked the club for eternity” … The supporters have not forgotten Julien Stéphan https://t.co/IsOXZuLORS via @ 20minutesRennes pic.twitter.com/DiyHOb6TLN
– 20 Minutes Rennes (@ 20minutesrennes) October 24, 2021
But as a true competitor, he will not forget either that his team leaves Rennes with a defeat in the socks (1-0). And that leaves him with a bitter taste. “We are disappointed for several reasons,” he said in the post-match conference. We already feel a little wronged on goal because there is a charge from Guirassy on Djiku which is not whistled. And then we can also equalize at the last minute ”.
“We wanted to bypass their offensive animation”
Well in place and very solid, his team has indeed stood up for a long time to a Breton team in full fluff at the moment. In the first half, it was the Belgian goalkeeper Matz Sels, author of two huge saves on the heads of Aguerd and Laborde, who saved the furniture and delayed the opening of the Breton score. This will take place at the end of the game thanks to a goal from Nayef Aguerd (82nd). But in stoppage time, Strasbourg did not come far from carrying out a small hold-up, Alfred Gomis pushing a spectacular tap off a Habib Diallo head.
If the account is not there at the accounting level, Julien Stéphan still appreciated the service of his team which is “in real progress”, according to him. “We were tactically very consistent and we hindered them well,” he said. As in his Rennes time, Julien Stéphan had also prepared a plan to play a bad trick on his former club. “We wanted to bypass their offensive animation, limit the influence of Sulemana and his relationship with Laborde,” he said in a post-match conference. It worked well even if it did not work in our favor ”.
After Rennes, Racing, back down to 12th place this Sunday, will continue its Tro Breizh with the reception of Lorient next weekend and then a trip to Nantes in two weeks.