After sealing their place in the Coupe de France final in midweek, Reims’ celebratory mood was dampened by Ismael Doukoure’s fourth-minute opener at Stade Auguste-Delaune.
The unmarked defender guided home his first goal since January 2023 after meeting Sebastian Nanasi’s inswinging corner to end Strasbourg’s six-game wait for a first-half goal.
The visitors thought they had given up their slender advantage when Junya Ito thumped a near-post shot past Dorde Petrovic, yet they breathed a huge sigh of relief as referee Clement Turpin chalked the goal off for a handball infringement.
Just moments later, Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos spurned a golden chance to score in a third consecutive game, steering his far-post effort into the sidenetting to ensure Liam Rosenior’s side had to be content with a one-goal lead at the break.
Another on-loan Chelsea star, Petrovic, made an important intervention in the opening stages of the second period, sticking out his left leg as he moved the wrong way to his right, thwarting Keito Nakamura.
After being given another reminder of the precarious nature of their lead, Strasbourg went agonisingly close to grabbing a second when their top scorer, Emanuel Emegha, diverted the ball against the upright from Dilane Bakwa’s squared pass.
As the contest drifted towards its conclusion, Strasbourg failed to capitalise on a promising four-on-two situation as substitute Sam Amo-Ameyaw saw his effort blocked.
Fortunately for the European hopefuls, their failure to carve out a second goal did not prove costly, as they stood firm at the opposite end of the pitch to clinch a fourth consecutive away win without conceding, although not before Strasbourg’s Diego Moreira and Reims’ Mory Gbane were sent off for their involvement in a late melee.
While Rosenior’s charges continue to dream of the Champions League, Samba Diawara’s drop into the bottom three with just six games left to play in Ligue 1.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ismael Doukoure (RC Strasbourg)