The Albany Gazette - Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss

Kosovo international Edon Zhegrova struck right before half-time as Lille extended their unbeaten run to eight games to stay a point behind third-placed Marseille.

Rennes failed to create any proper chances, recording one shot on target, and slid to a seventh defeat in 12 matches.

"It was a very even game," said Sampaoli. "We really tried to be solid defensively. The idea was to avoid being disorganised and it worked pretty well but we conceded a goal. We didn't offer enough going forward."

"It's a good starting point," he added. "We need time to sort things out with the attack."

Sampaoli, a 2015 Copa America winner with Chile who spent 16 months at Marseille between 2021 and 2022, will hope to lead Rennes away from trouble with games to come against Saint-Etienne, Nantes and Angers before the new year.

Nantes slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat as they lost 2-0 at home to Le Havre in a game twice delayed by crowd trouble.

Home fans hurled toilet paper and tennis balls towards the goal of Nantes 'keeper Alban Lafont, which resulted in a brief stoppage during the first half.

After Steve Ngoura added to Josue Casimir's early strike for Le Havre, Nantes supporters again threw items onto the pitch in the closing minutes with some breaking through an initial security perimeter.

Riot police and security guards intervened to prevent fans from accessing the pitch, but the game was interrupted for half an hour before officials decided to recall the teams for the last few minutes of added time.

Auxerre continued their impressive revival as Hamed Traore scored in stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 win over Angers.

The hosts jumped up to sixth after making it five games unbeaten, winning five of their last seven matches.

(L.Thomas--TAG)