Rennes and Monaco struggle in pre-season friendlies

Rennes edges past Club Bruges in tight friendly encounter

In a closely contested pre-season clash, Stade Rennais secured a narrow 2-1 victory over Belgian champions Club Bruges. The home side relied on the attacking prowess of Estéban Lepaul and Issa Soumaré to secure the win. Lepaul, who led Ligue 1’s scoring charts last season, struck just before halftime—his third goal of the summer—before Soumaré, a summer recruit from Le Havre, added the second in stoppage time. Despite a late Belgian goal and a penalty saved by young goalkeeper Kilian Belazzoug, Rennes demonstrated their current form in front of their Roazhon Park faithful. Their preparation continues with a clash against Galatasaray on August 2.

Monaco’s woes continue with Sporting defeat

AS Monaco, missing several key players including Aleksandr Golovin and Mika Biereth, suffered a 2-0 loss to Sporting CP in Lisbon. Under new manager Filipe Luís, Monaco struggled to impose themselves despite fielding a strong lineup featuring Lukas Hradecky in goal and a defensive pairing of Thilo Kehrer and Jan-Baptist Dier. A header from Rafael Nel (54’) and a curled effort from Jesse Derry (68’) sealed the win for Sporting. Hradecky’s heroics kept the scoreline manageable, but Monaco will need to regroup ahead of next week’s match against Cercle Bruges.

Strasbourg’s summer struggles deepen

Racing Club de Strasbourg endured another setback, falling 2-0 to Blackburn Rovers in England. Despite a strong start, a defensive error from Andrew Omobamidele gifted Blackburn the lead. Polish goalkeeper Miłosz Piekutowski made crucial saves to keep Strasbourg in the game, but a late strike from Todd Cantwell extended the visitors’ advantage. Strasbourg, who were humiliated 7-0 in their opening friendly, will look to regroup before their Ligue 1 opener against Olympique de Marseille.

Full Ligue 1 pre-season results

• Lens 2-2 Charleroi (BEL)
• Angers 2-1 Créteil (N1)
• Troyes 3-0 Grenoble (L2)
• Le Mans 1-0 Nantes (L2)
• Guingamp (L2) 0-2 Lorient
• Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) 2-1 Lille
• Rennes 2-1 Club Bruges (BEL)
• Auxerre 1-2 Orléans (L3)
• Marseille 0-3 Nice
• Le Havre 2-1 Red Star (L2)
• Toulouse 1-1 Rodez (L2)
• Strasbourg 0-2 Blackburn (ENG D2)
• Sporting CP (POR) 2-0 Monaco