AS Monaco’s trip to Roazhon Park turned into a bruising afternoon as a bright first half faded into a heavy 4–1 defeat against a ruthless Rennes side on the evening of Saturday, January 22. Monaco carved out the better chances before the break but failed to make any of them count, only to be punished repeatedly once the hosts found their stride.

Rennes, buoyed by returning players and chasing European qualification, entered the match with confidence. Monaco, meanwhile, welcomed back captain Denis Zakaria, goalkeeper Lukáš Hradecký and Krépin Diatta, while Paul Pogba made the bench for the first time since his long absence from competitive football. A healthy contingent of 500 travelling supporters added some colour to the away end.

The match finally sparked into life when Ansu Fati forced a save from Steve Mandanda, but Rennes struck moments later through Aït-Boudlal, who nodded in a Camara cross with a slice of fortune. The hosts nearly doubled their tally through Esteban Lepaul before Hradecký kept Monaco afloat with a strong one-on-one stop. Monaco tried to respond—Ansu Fati, George Ilenikhena and Maghnes Akliouche all carved out openings—but none could beat the Rennes defence. Another Rennes counter nearly produced a second, but Hradecký again intervened to deny Camara just before the break.

Any hopes of a second-half response evaporated quickly. Within three minutes of the restart, Camara buried the rebound from an Al-Tamari strike parried into his path. Breel Embolo nearly added another for Rennes, before the visitors’ afternoon darkened further as Zakaria was shown a straight red for a dangerous challenge. Rennes did not hesitate to twist the knife—Embolo made it 3–0 midway through the half, and a late penalty converted by Ludovic Blas pushed the scoreline to 4–0.

There was at least one bright moment for Monaco: Paul Pogba finally stepped back onto a Ligue 1 pitch, becoming only the third French world champion to feature in the league after lifting the trophy. He had barely settled in before Mika Biereth pulled back a stoppage-time consolation to soften the blow ever so slightly.

Monaco will need a quick reset as they turn their focus to Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Cyprus to face Pafos—a chance, at least, to rinse away the taste of a very long afternoon in Brittany.