SAINT-ETIENNE, Dec 6: Saint-Etienne remained stuck to the foot of the French league standings after a humiliating 5-0 rout by Rennes on Sunday that lifted the Brittany club to second place and prompted 10-time French champion Saint-Etienne to suspend its coach.
Martin Terrier led the Rennes attack with a hat trick against Claude Puel’s team, which has managed just two wins from 17 matches this season.
The emphatic result took Rennes to 11 points behind runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain, which was held to a 1-1 draw at Lens on Saturday. Rennes has a two-point lead over third-place Marseille following the southern side’s 2-1 home loss to Brest.
Terrier scored all three of his goals after assists from Croatian midfielder Lovro Majer.
Rennes led 2-0 after 28 minutes before Saint-Etienne defender Yvann Maçon beat his own goalkeeper at the stoke of halftime.
Terrier completed his hat trick three minutes into the second half with a curled 20-meter strike into the top corner and Lesley Ugochukwu sealed the result.
Monaco made light work of struggling Metz, with a 4-0 victory, to post a second straight win. Forward Sofiane Diop found the net in the opening minute, with Kevin Volland, Gelson Martins and Wissam Ben Yedder adding second-half goals. It was Ben Yedder’s ninth goal this season.
Also playing on the Riviera, Nice slumped to a third consecutive home loss against Strasbourg. Goals from Ludovic Ajorque, Habib Diallo and Adrien Thomasson ensured a 3-0 win for the Alsatian club.
In Bordeaux, Lyon’s relinquished the lead to draw 2-2.
Elye Wahi scored as Montpellier beat Clermont 1-0, Angers won 2-1 at Reims and Nantes ended a five-game winless run by defeating Lorient 1-0 away. (AP)
