In a series of high-stakes football friendly matches over the weekend, Stade Rennais delivered a commanding performance against Club Bruges, while AS Monaco faced a tough loss on the road. The action, unfolding in both domestic and international friendlies, provided a glimpse into teams’ preseason preparations ahead of the upcoming league campaigns.
Rennes shines with a late winner against Club Bruges
Fresh off a victory over Guingamp last week, Stade Rennais continued their strong preseason form by defeating Belgian champions Club Bruges 2-1 on Saturday evening. The home side relied once again on the attacking prowess of Estéban Lepaul, whose goal just before halftime—his third of the summer—proved decisive. The second strike came in stoppage time from Issa Soumaré, a new signing from Le Havre, sealing the win for the Roazhon Park faithful. Despite a late consolation goal from Bruges, Rennes held firm, with young goalkeeper Kilian Belazzoug making a crucial save from the penalty spot to preserve the three points. Their next challenge awaits on August 2 against Galatasaray.
Monaco’s struggles continue with defeat in Portugal
Without several key players—including Balogun, Camara, Zakaria, Akliouche, and the legendary Paul Pogba—AS Monaco suffered a second consecutive friendly loss, this time falling 2-0 to Sporting in Lisbon. Despite a solid defensive setup featuring Lukas Hradecky, the Kehrer-Dier partnership, and an attack led by Mika Biereth and Aleksandr Golovin, Monaco was outplayed throughout. Rafael Nel headed in the opener in the 54th minute, followed by a curling strike from Jesse Derry in the 68th. Hradecky managed to keep out a late effort, preventing a more lopsided scoreline. The Principality side will look to bounce back next week against Cercle Bruges.
Strasbourg falters in England
Racing Club de Strasbourg’s preseason woes deepened as they were defeated 2-0 by English Championship side Blackburn Rovers. After falling to a 7-0 drubbing in their opening friendly against Sporting, Strasbourg struggled once more, conceding an early own goal from Andrew Omobamidele. Though goalkeeper Miloš Piekutowski made several key stops, the side failed to capitalize, with Samuel Amo-Ameyaw missing a second-half penalty. Blackburn sealed the win late with a long-range strike from Todd Cantwell. Strasbourg now turns their attention to their Ligue 1 opener against Olympique de Marseille.
Other notable results from the weekend
- Lens and Charleroi played out a 2-2 draw in a tightly contested match.
- Angers secured a 2-1 victory over Créteil in a lower-league clash.
- Troyes dominated Grenoble 3-0 in a dominant display.
- Le Mans edged out Nantes 1-0 in a closely fought encounter.
- Guingamp fell to a 2-0 loss against Lorient.
- Union Saint-Gilloise defeated Lille 2-1 in a Belgian league match.
- Auxerre suffered a 2-1 defeat to Orléans in a lower-tier fixture.
- Marseille were blanked 3-0 by Nice in another surprising result.
- Le Havre triumphed 2-1 over Red Star.
- Toulouse and Rodez played to a 1-1 stalemate.
