Lyon thrash Rennes 4-0 after delay due to offensive banner

LYON, France, Sept 19 : Olympique Lyonnais cruised to a 4-0 win over Stade Rennais on Saturday that moved them up to second place in Ligue 1 in a game that was briefly halted after Lyon fans displayed an offensive banner directed at their rivals St Etienne.

The win lifts Lyon to 11 points after five games, two behind leaders AS Monaco, who beat Lens 2-1 on Friday, while Rennes are fifth in the table on 10 points after a lacklustre display in which they won the possession battle but struggled to create decent chances. 

Lyon raced into a 2-0 first-half lead thanks to two goals from Ernest Nuamah, but the game was then suspended when the offensive banner was unveiled. The players briefly left the field, but the game resumed after a short delay. 

The break did little to disrupt Lyon's rhythm and Zachary Athekame added a third after the break, with Corentin Tolisso sweeping a superb fourth into the net from just outside the box in the 76th minute to complete the rout. 

Toulouse beat Le Havre 3-2 at home to grab their first win of the season at their fifth attempt as Danish forward Casper Tengstedt struck twice just after the break, while Angers and Le Mans also enjoyed home wins over Troyes and Lorient respectively. 

Reigning champions Paris St Germain travel to Olympique de Marseille on Sunday.