Rennes routs big-spending Lyon 3-0 in French league

Rennes enjoyed a commanding 3-0 victory over big-spending Lyon in the French league on Sunday.

Benjamin Bourigeaud opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a deflected free kick. Just over a minute later, Amine Gouiri doubled Rennes’ lead after a swift counterattack.

Henrik Meister, a Danish striker acquired by Rennes this summer, sealed the win with a stoppage-time goal to cap a dominant performance.

Lyon, which struggled last season, started this campaign poorly despite heavy spending in the transfer window. Forward Georges Mikautadze, who was bought for 18.5 million euros ($20 million) after an impressive Euro 2024 campaign with Georgia, failed to score from the penalty spot on Sunday. Lyon central defender Moussa Niakhaté, a 32 million euro ($35 million) signing from Nottingham Forest, was at fault for two of the three goals conceded.

In other matches, Auxerre celebrated its return to Ligue 1 with a 2-1 victory over Nice at Stade de l’Abbé Deschamps. Nice took the lead through a header from Mohamed-Ali Cho, but Auxerre equalized before halftime thanks to Rayan Raveloson's goal. Lasso Coulibaly scored the winner in stoppage time.

Lens defeated promoted side Angers 1-0. Wesley Saïd scored in the first half, marking a successful league start for new coach Will Still.

Toulouse and Nantes played out a 0-0 draw, while Montpellier and Strasbourg shared the points in a 1-1 draw.