Camavinga stars as Rennes beat Montpellier

Paris, Aug 29, 2020 (AFP) - Rennes teenager Eduardo Camavinga celebrated his first France call-up with a terrific solo goal in Saturday's 2-1 victory at home to Montpellier in Ligue 1.

Camavinga, 17, was included this week in Didier Deschamps' squad for Nations League games against Sweden and Croatia next month as a replacement for Paul Pogba who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Julien Stephan's side will compete in the Champions League for the first time this season, and Angolan-born Camavinga has reiterated his commitment to the club despite reported interest from Real Madrid.

Damien Le Tallec inadvertently gave the Breton the lead when he flicked Raphinha's cross into his own net on 22 minutes, with the visitors reduced to 10 men before half-time as Florent Mollet was dismissed after catching the head of Faitout Maouassa with his studs.

Rennes hit the woodwork three times at Roazhon Park, twice through Adrien Hunou and again when Raphinha crashed a curling free-kick against the bar on the hour, with Montpellier's Arnaud Souquet hitting the upright at the other end.

The hosts saw Martin Terrier sent off with 15 minutes left for a late tackle on Gaetan Laborde but Camavinga soon added a second, gliding into the area and shaking free of his defender with a wonderful shimmy before driving low into the far corner.

The masked Laborde, sporting protective headgear after breaking his nose in midweek, grabbed a consolation in stoppage time with a superb diving header but it could not deny Rennes a first win of the season.

Lyon beat Dijon 4-1 in their first game of the campaign on Friday, while Marseille are due to visit Brest on Sunday after their planned opener against Saint-Etienne last week was postponed after several players tested positive for coronavirus.

Title holders Paris Saint-Germain's scheduled game at Lens on Saturday has been pushed back to September 10 following their run to Champions League final in Lisbon.