After RC Lens' loss at the hands of FC Metz and Stade de Reims' loss at the hands of RC Strasbourg Alsace, Stade Rennais hosted Toulouse FC at the Roazhon Park on Saturday night with the chance to make significant progress in their hunt for European football next season.

Rennes began brightly, taking the lead through Desire Doue midway through the second half but Toulouse struck back immediately through Cristian Casseres before Moussa Diarra gave Le TeFeCe the lead just minutes later. After a dramatic first 30 minutes at the Roazhon Park, the game settled down. No further goals were scored and Rennes succumbed to a 2-1 defeat. Les Rennais have now lost their last four in all competitions, whilst they have just one win in their last seven in Ligue 1; that is not the form of a European contender and all levels of the club voiced their frustration with their current run post-match.

PLAYER RATINGS | Rennes 1-2 Toulouse: Bretons record third league loss on the bounce.

Desire Doue, 7 Benjamin Bourigeaud, 3 Stijn Spierings, 7 https://t.co/03nOaZSAKj

- Get French Football News (@GFFN) April 14, 2024 "It was a catastrophe, what we showed in terms of desire and in the game from start to finish. We can only do one thing and that's apologise, apologise to our supporters who didn't desert us from start to finish. We haven't deserved them in recent matches. Tonight, it was a purge. We need to go home and question ourselves, that's it," said defender Arthur Theate in the post-match mixed zone.

Rennes president laments "inconceivable and shameful' behaviour In a post-match press conference, attended by Get French Football News, Julien Stephan said, "We can lose but we can't accept losing like that [...] the second half was nearly complete nothingness. We'll need to find explanations. It's out of the question to reproduce this kind of match," said Stephan, who recently signed a renewal with Rennes, tying him to the club for two further seasons.

Rennes fans with a clear message to the team ahead of tonight's match against Toulouse:

"Six matches to qualify. Europe isn't an option but an obligation."

@BastChev pic.twitter.com/beArUSSDEp

- Get French Football News (@GFFN) April 13, 2024 "We have given an unworthy representation of Stade Rennais with an insipid second-half display," said club president Olivier Cloarec. "It's true that with what we showed, we didn't deserve better than a loss tonight. We are on a four-game losing run, with just one goal scored. What we are showing clearly contrasts with what we were showing several weeks ago [...] we are speechless faced with the team's behaviour. It's inconceivable and shameful. We'll review at the end of the season and we will take responsibility, don't worry," he added.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

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