Reims end with defeat

Reims capped a disappointing end to their Ligue 1 season by losing 3-1 at home to mid-table rivals Rennes.

Reims capped a disappointing end to their Ligue 1 season by losing 3-1 at home to mid-table rivals Rennes. Hubert Fournier's side had looked on course for a lofty finish but a miserable run which included four defeats in their last five games means they had to settle for 11th spot, one place ahead of Rennes. The visitors had the points all-but sewn up by the hour mark thanks to goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ola Toivonen and Paul-Georges Ntep, and Reims could only respond through Diego's late strike. The victory would have pleased Rennes coach Philippe Montanier, whose side were booed by their own fans following last week's home loss to Sochaux. However, it might have been a different story had Reims made the most of two decent early chances, with Grzegorz Krychowiak failing to beat Rennes goalkeeper Benoit Costil when one-on-one and then, from the resulting corner, the unmarked Antoine Conte headed inches wide. After surviving those let-offs, Rennes took the lead in the 34th minute when Foued Kadir's cross from the right which was met by Doucoure who sent a right-footed volley flying past Kossi Agassa. Rennes almost made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute when Toivonen fired just wide, but the Sweden international made no mistake just two minutes later to double his side's lead after beating Conte and slotting home from close range. A fine reflex save from Costil to deny Gaetan Charbonnier in the 57th minute kept Rennes' advantage intact, and soon after that the visitors pretty much wrapped up the win when Ntep smashed home following a long punt forward from Costil. Reims at least got on the scoresheet when Diego notched with eight minutes to go, but it was meagre consolation as they finished the campaign with just one win from their final 11 matches.