AC Milan will face Stade Rennais in the Europa League play-off round after the draw took place in Switzerland yesterday, and they will go into the tie as big favourites.
Milan will need to emerge victorious over the two legs to secure qualification for the last 16 of the competition, but the feeling among fans and the media is a sigh of relief given the chances of facing Marseille, Sporting CP or even a long trip to Qarabag.
A tough act to follow
Last season, Rennes were one of the most entertaining sides to watch in Ligue 1 as they finished fourth in the table with 21 wins in their 38 games but only five draws. They scored 69 goals, letting in just 39.
Les Rouge et Noirs had a run of eight wins in 11 games from the end of August to the World Cup break and looked in great position to earn a Champions League spot. They fell away a bit after that, but won their last four games to get into the Europa League.
They were also in the UEL last season and they crashed out in the play-off round – something they will be looking to avoid this time – after a penalty shootout loss at home against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Stade Rennais are certainly finding last season tough to follow up on as they are in 13th place at the moment, with only 16 points accumulated and three wins in 16 matches played. However, they got through their Europa League group in second behind Villarreal, ahead of them by only one point.
To get through Group F, the Ligue 1 side got the better of two teams with a long European tradition in Maccabi Haifa – who eliminated Juventus from the Champions League a few years ago – and Greek side Panathinaikos. They even nearly won the group but for a bizarre (and correctly) disallowed goal.
Strengths and weaknesses
Coached by the 43-year-old Frenchman Julien Stephan, Rennes play an unscrupulous formation on paper (the 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3) but still needs to be refined especially with regards to the attack, where a real striker is missing.
Their quality is in the experience of Steve Mandanda, a 38-year-old former France starter, as well as in the two young full-backs Truffet and Assignon who are known for their forays forward.
The goals from the other departments in addition to the attack is the quality that should worry Pioli most of all. Stade Rennais had 27 goals scored by ‘non-attackers’ last season, among which the central defender Bourigeaud plus the likes of Blas, Guiri and Salah scored a total of 18 goals between them.
The real unknown for the French team is related to the two strikers Kalimuendo and Yldirim who in 19 and 17 games respectively have scored two goals in total. The defensive and mental stability of the team that have not won in Ligue 1 since last November 26th has also been questioned.
Rennes’ disappointing numbers in the league are also confirmed by the figures regarding goals scored and goals conceded. In fact, the French side are one of the best attacks in Ligue 1 with 20 goals scored in 16 matches but also one of the worst defence having conceded 21 times.
Dates and times
As usual, the exact times were communicated by UEFA after the draw but it was already known in which order the two ties would be played.
Given Milan were the unseeded side of the tie, they will host the first leg – as such, it means that they will host Rennes at the San Siro on February 15, with the game kicking off at 21:00 CET.
The Rossoneri will then travel to France to play Rennes at the Roazhon Park a week later, on February 22, with the game set to kick off at 18:45 CET.
The games are sandwiched by fixtures against Napoli (H), Monza (A), and finally Atalanta (H). Whilst it was no secret that the games would congest Milan’s schedule, they will now play six times in a 29-day month (given 2024 is a leap year), meaning the Diavolo will play on average every four days.
The reaction
Commenting on the draw, Franco Baresi said: “We know that in football we don’t have to never underestimate anyone. We must be ambitious.
“The French are always special, but for what Milan represents we have to think about winning. We will need motivation from Milan, we think big but always with respect. It will be important to recover players in February.”
CEO Giorgio Furlani added: “We were indifferent. If we want to go and win the Europa League, anyone is fine, we have to face them all.”
The teams avoided
As mentioned, Milan did not start as a seeded side having been ‘relegated’ from the Champions League and thus they could only face teams who finished second in their respective Europa League groups, with the exception of Roma as a team from the same country.
Below are the six other teams that Milan could have been pitted against, as well as the eight ties:
Freiburg (GER)
Marseille (FRA)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Sporting CP (POR)
Toulouse (FRA)
Qarabag (AZE)
➤ Feyenoord vs. Roma
➤ Milan vs. Rennes
➤ Lens vs. Freiburg
➤ Young Boys vs. Sporting CP
➤ Benfica vs. Toulouse
➤ Braga vs. Qarabag
➤ Galatasaray vs. Sparta Prague
➤ Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Marseille
We need tonbe confident but understand they are a threat.