Rennes continued their strong start to the Ligue 1 season with a 2-0 victory over nine-man Nantes.
The visitors were the first to threaten when Paul-Georges Ntep fired at goal from inside the box, but his low strike was well saved by Maxime Dupe.
Ntep turned provider to almost conjure an opener for his side as he lifted the ball into the box from the right, but Giovanni Sio could not hit the target with his close-range header.
Rennes continued to dominate in the final third and Sio should have hit the back of the net with his shot from inside the box, but he put his strike wide of the post.
Abdoulaye Doucoure could have broken the deadlock just before the break when he latched on to Steven Moreira's free kick into the box, only to send his header over the bar.
In the second half, Nantes were reduced to 10 men when Adryan was sent off for a lunging tackle on Edson Mexer, although replays suggested he was attempting to block the ball.
Rennes took advantage of the situation when Sio raced through on goal minutes later and although his effort was saved by Dupe, Ntep was on hand to turn in the rebound.
The afternoon got worse for the home side when Kolbeinn Sigthorsson was given a straight red card for a poor challenge on Mehdi Zeffane.
Rennes secured their win in the 89th minute when Sio finally got his goal, collecting Doucoure's pass and slotting the ball past Dupe.
Simon Sinclair
