The Senegalese forward got his third Ligue 1 goal of the season, albeit, the Maroons crumbled at home to the Red and Blacks
Pape Yade found the net as Metz bowed 3-1 at home to Rennes in Saturday’s French elite division outing.
With the Maroons trailing by three goals at Stade Saint-Symphorien, the Senegalese striker was introduced in the second-half, albeit, his effort could not prevent his team from losing their 10th game of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 campaign.
After playing a 2-2 draw at Lens in their last outing, Frederic Antonetti’s men welcomed the Reds and Blacks with the ambition of sealing all points at stake, but they ended up on the losing side.
18 minutes into the game, Rennes took the lead through Belgium international of Ghanaian background Jeremy Doku. Receiving a pass from Martin Terrier, the 18-year-old slotted the ball past a stranded goalkeeper Marc-Aurele Caillard.
That goal was an eye-opener for the hosts as they swung into action by dominating ball possession, nevertheless, their biggest undoing was missing clear cut chances.
As they continued to push for the equaliser, it was Rennes who doubled their advantage in the 38th minute. Following Vincent Pajot’s reckless challenge on Hamari Traore in the goal area, referee Willy Delajod had no option than to award a penalty to the visitors, while Terrier made no mistakes converting the ensuing kick despite Caillard guessing the right direction.
In dire need of victory to boost their European dreams, Rennes came out stronger in the second-half. Their quest to record a comeback win got a big boost as Doku was given the marching orders in the 51st minute for a dangerous tackle on Thomas Delaine.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, it was the hosts who continued to dictate the pace and they got their third goal in the 88th minute through Sehrou Guirassy. The French forward of Guinean descent received a pass from Eduardo Camavinga, beat two markers before firing past the goalkeeper.
Refusing to go down without a fight, Yade, who replaced Lamine Gueye in the 73rd minute, fired Matthieu Udol’s pass past Senegal’s Alfred Gomis.
With this result, Rennes climbed to seventh in the French elite division after accruing 44 points from 30 games, while Metz dropped to eighth with 42 points with 42 points from the same number of matches.