Lille continues to struggle

The 2011 champion is marooned in mid-table this time around and was joined on seven points by Frederic Antonetti's men.

The home side actually started the night in the bottom three, but it did not show as it put on its best show of the season.

That did not appear to be the case in the first-half, though, as Lille bossed proceedings.

It had the first chance when Nolan Roux's effort was turned away by Benoit Costil, and then went close again when Dmitri Payet went on a jinking run past three men before planting a shot over the bar.

The traffic continued to flow towards Rennes' goal, with Roux breaching the offside trap and drilling in from the edge of the box, clipping the bar in the process.

Lille was doing all but score, and just before the half-time break, Payet found himself one-on-one with the Costil but skewed wide.

Whatever Antonetti said to his players at the half-time had the desired effect.

Romain Danze's cross fell for Mevlut Erding who teed-up Feret but he was unable to finish.

However, that changed with 64 minutes gone, with Feret prodding in after Mickael Landreau spilled Jonathan Pitroipa's shot.

Lille responded by thumping the bar as Costil got a hand on Aurelien Chedjou's cross, and its misfortune was underlined 15 minutes from the end as Alessandrini scored a wonderful goal, pulling Tulio De Melo's cross out of the sky and volleying in from 25 yards.

It was a night when little went for Lille, and so it proved with a minute to go as coach Rudi Garcia was sent to the stands for dissent.