Ligue 1 Roundup: Rennes Cruise Past Lyon, Auxerre Back with a Bang

Rennes began their Ligue 1 campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Lyon at home on Sunday.

The match saw Rennes take an early lead with two goals scored within two minutes of each other in the first half. Benjamin Bourigeaud broke the deadlock with a free-kick that took a deflection off the wall and evaded the goalkeeper. Moments later, Amine Gouiri extended the lead after capitalizing on a misjudged backpass from Lyon's Moussa Niakhate, rounding the goalkeeper and scoring from a tight angle.

Despite Rennes' continued pressure in the second half, they only managed to add to their tally in stoppage time. Henrik Meister sealed the win with a right-footed shot from inside the box.

Lyon faced another disappointing start to their season, reminiscent of last year's poor opening, although they eventually improved under Pierre Sage to become a leading team in Ligue 1.

In the day's other fixture, newly-promoted Auxerre marked their return to the top flight with a dramatic late win against Nice. Substitute Lasso Coulibaly scored the decisive goal five minutes into stoppage time, following Rayan Raveloson's equalizer to Mohamed-Ali Cho's 21st-minute opener.

Lens secured a 1-0 win over newly-promoted Angers, with Wesley Said scoring the only goal of the match in the 28th minute. Said received the ball near the penalty spot, feinted to shoot in one direction, and then directed the ball into the net, leaving the goalkeeper unable to react.

In other matches, Nantes and Toulouse played to a goalless draw, while Montpellier and Strasbourg ended their match 1-1, with both goals coming in the second half.