Held in check in Lille this Saturday during the 38th day (2-2), Rennes finished fourth in Ligue 1 and will play in the Europa League next season. Threatened by Nice, the Rennais were saved by Serhou Guirassy.
Rennes could have lost everything this Saturday during the last day of Ligue 1. But Bruno Génésio’s men saved the furniture on the lawn of Lille (2-2), with a late goal from Serhou Guirassy. Enough to clinch 4th place, synonymous with the Europa League. Despite the absence of a podium this season, the Rennes coach did not hide his joy.
“I think that’s one of the beautiful emotions that you only experience in football. We went through all the states until the last minute but I think this draw and this fourth place are well deserved. I want to congratulate the players for the season they have achieved and it is a great symbol that it is an element coming from the bench which offers the point to go to the Europa League. It sums up the quality and the state of mind of the group”, greeted Génésio at a press conference.
>> Relive the multiplex of the 38th day
5th consecutive participation for a European Cup
Second best attack in Ligue 1 (82) behind PSG (90), the Rennais completed the exercise with many cards to their credit. “It’s time for the season to end because we made a lot of effort, recalled Génésio. We have an energy-intensive game and maybe we ran out of gas at the end of the match, with the challenge that could have paralyzed us a little, but we showed quality and character until the end to snatch a point. There is relief, joy and pride in reaching the objective set at the start season for the fifth year in a row. There are away games where we lost when we should have been content with a draw but there are no regrets.”
No regrets since Rennes will play in a European Cup for the 5th consecutive year, after being eliminated in the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League against Leicester.
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