These sides came into the game in contrasting form, with Rennes on a run of two consecutive wins, and Lille suffering back-to-back losses.
However, it was the away side who got off to the better start, as a corner travelled through everyone to Bafode Diakite at the back post, but the centre-back saw his effort saved on the line.
The hosts struggled to gain a foothold in the contest throughout the first half as the visitors dominated possession, and Lille were presented with an opportunity to turn their domination into a goal before half-time after Christopher Wooh was penalised for handling in the box.
Chuba Akpom was made to wait to take the spot-kick as Brice Samba wasted time with mind games, and they clearly worked, as the goalkeeper saved the striker’s penalty.
Newly-appointed Rennes boss Habib Beye would have demanded more from his players during the break, and the hosts came out for the second half with renewed vigour. Ludovic Blas’ whipped free-kick into the box was met by Lillian Brassier but his header cannoned off the post.
Les Dogues went up the other end and almost netted the opener after Akpom slipped Mitchel Bakker through on goal, but Samba made a great save with his feet. The striker continued to have an impact, and thought he had found the opener just beyond the hour mark after he turned Ismaily’s cross into the net, but the goal was ruled out as Akpom was adjudged to have been offside.
Rennes continued to lack ideas in the final third, and their evening turned sour on 75 minutes when Wooh was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Armed with a numerical advantage, Lille continued to probe for an opener as Bruno Genesio made an attacking double substitution with 15 minutes to go, and one of those introduced, Nabil Bentaleb, made an almost immediate impact as he made the breakthrough minutes later.
The Algerian reacted first to prod the ball home after Akpom saw his header saved from a corner. Having been denied all night, Akpom finally got on the scoresheet to seal victory late on after being sent through by Bakker, with the striker sliding the ball past Samba.
The win is Lille’s first on the road in the league in six games dating back to October, and Genesio will hope this victory will provide the platform to make a charge into the top-four. Rennes’ inconsistent season continued, with their two-match winning run coming to an end, leaving them five points clear of the drop zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mitchel Bakker (Lille)
