Maghnes Akliouche lit up the occasion in front of a sparse crowd at the Stade Louis II by opening the scoring with a breathtaking overhead kick after quarter of an hour. Golovin hit the bar moments later when he should have found the net, and instead Mahamadou Nagida equalised for Rennes in first-half stoppage time.

Danish striker Mika Biereth restored Monaco's lead early in the second half, the former Arsenal youngster getting his first goal since signing from Sturm Graz earlier this month. Akliouche then set up Russian international Golovin for Monaco's third on 56 minutes, although they were still forced to hang on at the end after Amine Gouiri got another goal back for Rennes.

Monaco's first win in five Ligue 1 games lifts them provisionally up to third, four days after a precious 1-0 win against Aston Villa which secured a place in the knockout phase of this season's Champions League.

In contrast, Rennes remain outside the bottom three only on goal difference and have lost five games out of five between league and cup in 2025 -- they have been beaten seven times in 10 outings since former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli was appointed in November with the task of turning around their fortunes.

"I feel that I can do something for this club and I will do what I can to get us out of this situation", Sampaoli said when asked if he already felt that his position was under threat. Lille visit Strasbourg later knowing a win will take them back above Monaco into third place again. Leaders Paris Saint-Germain entertain Reims with Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in line to make his debut after signing from Napoli last week for a reported 70 million euros ($72m).

January 25, 2025

M. Nagida

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