Nice 5-2 Rennes: Elye Wahi scores twice from the spot and once from open play
Elye Wahi scored a hat-trick, two of them penalties, as Nice ran up five goals at the Allianz Riviera. Sebastian Szymanski and Boulaye Dia replied for Rennes, but it was never enough to stop the bleeding.
Elye Wahi did not need open play to get going. He sent Nice ahead from the penalty spot after 12 minutes, and when Sebastian Szymanski headed in Rennes' leveller three minutes later it looked like the pattern for the afternoon — a game of punches. It was not. Wahi scored again from the spot before the half-hour, Jonathan Clauss added a third in first-half stoppage time, and Nice were already out of sight by the time Rennes worked out how to stop them.
Mohamed Amoura made it four early in the second half, Sofiane Diop supplying the pass. Boulaye Dia pulled one back for Rennes from the penalty spot just after, but Wahi had the last word in the 73rd minute, finishing off a Gauthier Hein assist to complete his hat-trick and put the game to bed at 5-2.
Match facts
- 12' — Elye Wahi, penalty (Nice)
- 15' — Sebastian Szymanski, header (Rennes)
- 34' — Elye Wahi, penalty (Nice)
- 45+2' — Jonathan Clauss (Nice)
- 52' — Mohamed Amoura (Nice)
- 58' — Boulaye Dia, penalty (Rennes)
- 73' — Elye Wahi (Nice)
| Stat | Nice | Stade Rennais |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 47.5% | 52.5% |
| Shots on target | 8 | 9 |
| Pass accuracy | 83.6% | 85.0% |
| Corners | 4 | 7 |
| Fouls conceded | 8 | 10 |
| Offsides | 2 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 3 |
Wahi takes over
Three goals from one player, two of them from the penalty spot, is the kind of afternoon that settles a game almost by itself. Wahi's third, in the 73rd minute, was also his tidiest — a finish off a Hein pull-back rather than a conversion under no real pressure — and it came after Rennes had briefly threatened a way back into the match with Dia's penalty on the hour. Nice shut that door immediately.
Form going in opposite directions
Nice arrived on a run of three wins in their previous four — Lille, Strasbourg and Brest all beaten since the derby defeat to Auxerre in mid-September — and this result keeps that run going. Rennes, meanwhile, have now lost three of their last six, following the same stop-start pattern that saw them beaten 3-4 by Paris FC a fortnight ago despite leading for long periods. Both sides' defences have been generous all season: Nice have conceded ten goals in eight league games before this one, Rennes fourteen, and neither back line did much here to improve those numbers.
What's next
For Nice, Wahi's afternoon turns a solid month into a genuinely good one, lifting them to 14 points and 7th. Rennes need to find the defensive consistency that keeps undoing promising results — five goals conceded away from home is not a one-off this season, it is becoming a theme — and the loss drops them to 16 points and 3rd, their cushion over the chasing pack thinner than it was.
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