Rennes have put a further dent in Montpellier's hopes to successfully defend their Ligue 1 title with a 2-1 victory at home.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Jean Makoun headed home Romain Alessandrini's delivery from just yards out.

Montpellier almost restored parity just two minutes later when Benjamin Stambouli hit the left post from close range.

Mevlut Erding had a chance to double his side's advantage in the 18th minute before Cyril Jeunechamp went close for Montpellier.

Rennes made it 2-0 seven minutes after the half-time interval, Erding latching on to Alessandrini's through ball to shoot home from a narrow angle with his left foot.

Montpellier gave themselves a good chance of staging a comeback when they were awarded a penalty on 68 minutes.

Onyekachi Apam's challenge on John Utaka saw the referee point to the spot, and Younes Belhanda made no mistake from 12 yards.

However, last season's Ligue 1 winners failed to score the equaliser despite coming close in the final minutes through Emanuel Herrera, Souleymane Camara and Utaka.