Julien Stéphan

Strasbourg coach Julien Stephan must feel quite satisfied when he looks at the French league table and sees he is one point ahead of his former club Rennes. Even more so when he contemplates helping fourth-placed Strasbourg make its best league start for 25 years with 10 wins from the first 22 games.

The Champions League theme blared into the night. There was little to celebrate in 2020 but, due to the controversial early halt to the Ligue 1 season, Rennes’ Roazhon Park exploded with the joy of that familiar orchestral swell. Third place in Ligue 1 and some helpful Europa League results meant they were guaranteed top level European football for the first time. What president Nicolas Holveck described as “a very beautiful evening” was down to manager Julien Stéphan. Few coaches have been as impressive as Stéphan in recent times, but his era is now at an end.