Ligue 1: Estéban Lepaul opens the scoring after his first France call-ups, Rennes beat Auxerre 4-1

Fifteen minutes in, and the answer arrives. On a long ball from Cresswell out of his own half, Estéban Lepaul runs in behind and finishes first time: the ball floats over Diop, the opening goal at Roazhon Park.

Haise had defended him before kickoff

The Rennes striker came back from a break of firsts: on against Turkey, starting against Belgium, an unused substitute against Italy, without scoring. On Friday, in his press conference, Franck Haise had set the context: “Let’s not forget it was a first call-up and that is not easy.” He described a player “very calm and happy, because he played”, who “knows everything he still has to go and find to improve and to keep going to the French team”.

Rennes needed goals again

Rennes needed this response: a 4-0 defeat at Lyon before the break, three of their last four outings without scoring. They sat sixth on ten points before kickoff, Auxerre 15th on six. Last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer, Lepaul got the machine running again. Cameron Archer equalised in the 25th minute for Auxerre, then three goals after the break made it a 4-1 win.

The pick lands

I took Rennes to win at 1.48 with 1xbet in our match preview, with a minimal stake: the market has read this team well. Archer’s equaliser was the only scare, and the second half settled it. Lepaul and his team-mates play the next chapter on Sunday at Paris FC. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.