Match Focus: Coach Courbis Resurrects Old Magic to Undo In-form Rennes

“When you don't respect certain principles of effort and technique, football is brutal, and it’s brought us back to reality.” Philippe Montanier's summary of the abrupt end to Rennes' 8-match unbeaten run on Saturday night - with a surprise 4-0 home defeat to Montpellier - was in keeping with his sanguine character, forged in part by fluctuations in fortune of his Real Sociedad and Rennes sides. He had tempered widespread praise of his men earlier in the week, and he had been right to do so.

This season's sharp improvement has been a great relief after a couple of very difficult years for the Bretons, but even at their lowest points, they were rarely given the sort of caning handed out by Courbis' side at the weekend. The defeat was Rennes' first loss by 4 clear goals since the beating by Saint Etienne in February 2012.

Yet it wasn't all about a bad day at the office for Montanier and his men, or simply a reflection of how much they missed key pair Gelson Fernandes and Ola Toivonen, with the Swede pulling out through illness not long before kick-off. This was a triumph for the visitors and their coach Rolland Courbis, who masterminded a first away win since the first trip out of the season, a 2-0 victory at Marseille that looks more impressive (and incongruous) as the weeks go by. 

It must have felt like fate was conspiring against La Paillade, who have been hit hard by the autumn flooding of the region. Their Stade de la Mosson was inundated, and they’ve not played a match there since the end of September, when they beat Guingamp. In the meantime, Courbis and company have decamped to the Altrad Stadium, the home of the city’s rugby club.  

Interestingly, it has been in these unfamiliar surroundings that the 2012 champions have got the results to get them back on the straight and narrow. Home wins against Evian and Toulouse in the last month have seen Montpellier ride out setbacks like the defeat at Bastia and Wednesday’s sluggish reverse against Saint Etienne.

Yet it was more due to a heavy week, rather than any residual Courbis anger, that saw the veteran coach author six changes to the XI that lost at home to Les Verts in the week. Though those alterations had their effects – and we will come onto the contribution of Lucas Barrios shortly – the change of Montpellier’s shape perhaps made the most profound difference to their efficiency. From Wednesday’s lumpen 4-4-2, Courbis shifted to a more fluid 4-2-3-1. In the event, it produced a Montpellier performance in which they got 10 out 11 efforts at goal on target.

The shape change allowed Jonas Martin to move into the central playmaker position, from where he opened the scoring with a late run into the six-yard box. His tidy play (94.2% pass completion) was key in Montpellier claiming a level of control in the middle of the field, while another change – this time unplanned – gave him great options on either side, when the deposed Morgan Sanson replaced Paul Lasne just before the break.

It worked perfectly, with Sanson scoring within minutes of the restart on a lightening counter-attack and later creating a goal too. On the opposite flank, Anthony Mounier produced an even more telling performance, playing 5 key passes and hitting the final goal in the final minute. He was the star man, rating 8.99. It has been a good season for a player that the club invited to find new pastures in the summer. The Lyon academy graduate now has 4 goals and 4 assists this campaign, and it was with a fitting circularity that he weighed in here, having opened his account in that previous away win at the Vélodrome. 

This will be remembered, however, as the day when Barrios stepped back into the light. He had arrived on loan from Spartak Moscow to some fanfare at the end of the summer, but had looked a million miles from the player who thrived under Jürgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund. Montpellier’s colourful president Louis Nicollin put it most candidly when he remarked that “Courbis told me it was the deal of the century. For the moment, it’s the robbery of the century.”

His goal against Rennes, taken with typical adroitness, was his first in Ligue 1. It was also only his third effort on target since his arrival – he had only registered one before the visit to the Stade de la Route de Lorient. The assist for Martin’s opener was his first for Montpellier, too. His struggles to date are epitomised by the fact that even after his sterling Saturday (rating 8.11), he rates 6.41 on average for the season, putting him 17th in their table of performers for the campaign.

With Montpellier up to 8th – only four points behind Rennes, who have been one of the surprises of the season so far – Barrios and they will hope that this is the start of something, rather than a one-off, as they seek to put an uncertain autumn behind them. Courbis, whose second spell in charge has had its ups and downs, will also hope that this is the time in which he will cement his place as a club legend, having suggested here that the old magic is still around.

Do you think this game will be the catalyst for success in Montpellier’s season? Let us know in the comments below