Rennes 3-1 West Ham: Hammers suffer first defeat of their pre-season campaign – as Tomas Soucek’s equaliser is cancelled out by French opponents
- West Ham suffered their first loss of their pre-season campaign against Rennes
- David Moyes’ side are keen for a Declan Rice replacement after his Arsenal move
- French club Stade Rennais beat the London club 3-1 despite Soucek’s leveller
Despite a goal from Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek, West Ham‘s efforts against Stade Rennais were not enough to earn them a pre-season victory.
The French team steamed ahead in the opening ten minutes, when French midfielder Baptiste Santamaria found the back of the net with a long-range strike from 35 yards out.
David Moyes named an almost full-squad for the first time and headed into the second half level with their French opponents.
West Ham had beaten Tottenham 3-2 in a recent friendly, though suffered against French club
Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek equalised for the Hammers from a free kick to make it 1-1
Baptiste Santamaria for Rennes opened the scoring with a long-range strike from 35 yards out
Despite a goal from Tomas Soucek, West Ham’s efforts were not enough to earn them a victory
However, it wasn’t long before Rennes reclaimed their lead with a close-range goal from under-21s Arnaud Kalimuendo, closely following by an unfortunate own goal from Angelo Ogbonna.
Suffering their first defeat, attention turns to the club’s summer transfer window, as they are one of the few Premier League clubs yet to make a signing.
The pre-season match meant Nayef Aguerd took over the captain’s armband on his return to the club he joined the Irons from last summer.
The Hammers boss will have a difficult job in finding a suitable midfield replacement for an already-weakened side.
Ex-Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is a top target for West Ham, although the club have since had a £20m bid rejected from the Manchester club.
Rennes opened the game with intensity, rewarding their pacy performance with Santamaria’s early goal from 35 yards out which swerved into the top right corner.
West Ham turned up the heat on their performance to produce a few chances against the French side.
Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta attempted an almost perfect striking volley in a mirror image of Santamaria’s, though Rennes’ goalkeeper Steve Mandanda managed to knock it aside.
Heading into the 2023-24 league campaign, David Moyes’ side will be looking to improve on their 14th place finish.
Having lost their star player to a rival club, the Irons are eyeing Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay as their first summer signings.
Declan Rice led the Hammers to a historic Europa Conference League win earlier this year
Hammers boss David Moyes will have a difficult job in finding a suitable replacement for former captain Declan Rice, who made a British record transfer to Arsenal for £105m
