Mathieu Valbuena's solitary first half strike was enough to see Lyon leapfrog 10-man Rennes into fourth place in Ligue 1 with a slender 1-0 win at Parc OL.
Both sides had early chances but Rachid Ghezzal saw an effort seemingly blocked by the hand of Ramy Bensebaini, with the ensuing penalty claims turned away, before Adrien Hunou was unable to get a telling touch at the other end with the goal at his mercy.
Then, with his first real contribution to the game, Mathieu Valbuena handed Lyon the lead on 28 minutes.
Ghezzal was the instigator and after he did well to go past Ludovic Baal, his pass found Valbuena whose instinctive finish nestled beyond Benoit Costil.
Rennes threatened almost immediately as Anthony Lopes was called into action, keeping out a stinging Giovanni Sio effort, while Benjamin Andre and Romain Danze both had efforts at goal before the interval.
Lopes' good work continued to thwart the visitors in the second half as the Portugal keeper gathered low down at the feet of the onrushing Sio before some even better work prevented Hunou from levelling matters with a close range header.
Paul-Georges Ntep missed another Rennes opportunity on 68 minutes, firing wide from close range, and soon after any chance of salvaging a point seemingly disappeared when Bensebaini was shown a straight red for a nasty looking challenge on Alexandre Lacazette.
Scorer [ Mathieu Valbuena 28' ]
Both sides had early chances but Rachid Ghezzal saw an effort seemingly blocked by the hand of Ramy Bensebaini, with the ensuing penalty claims turned away, before Adrien Hunou was unable to get a telling touch at the other end with the goal at his mercy.
Then, with his first real contribution to the game, Mathieu Valbuena handed Lyon the lead on 28 minutes.
Ghezzal was the instigator and after he did well to go past Ludovic Baal, his pass found Valbuena whose instinctive finish nestled beyond Benoit Costil.
Rennes threatened almost immediately as Anthony Lopes was called into action, keeping out a stinging Giovanni Sio effort, while Benjamin Andre and Romain Danze both had efforts at goal before the interval.
Lopes' good work continued to thwart the visitors in the second half as the Portugal keeper gathered low down at the feet of the onrushing Sio before some even better work prevented Hunou from levelling matters with a close range header.
Paul-Georges Ntep missed another Rennes opportunity on 68 minutes, firing wide from close range, and soon after any chance of salvaging a point seemingly disappeared when Bensebaini was shown a straight red for a nasty looking challenge on Alexandre Lacazette.
Scorer [ Mathieu Valbuena 28' ]
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