Stade Rennais manager Bruno Genesio pays Aston Villa exciting compliment following pre-season match in France

Stade Rennais manager Bruno Genesio praised the ‘commitment’ of Aston Villa following the pre-season friendly match between the two on Saturday evening.

Villa fell behind to a Arthur Theate strike early on but goals from Leon Bailey and Diego Carlos turned the game on it’s head and meant the claret and blue rounded off their pre-season schedule undefeated.

Speaking after the contest, Rennes boss Genesio was complimentary of Steven Gerrard’s outfit and claimed that his side weren’t able to match the ‘commitment’ of the Villans.

“It’s good because it was the rehearsal before the championship,” he said.

“We needed that, a good team technically and tactically, with a lot of intensity, and individual qualities. We have seen that we have made progress in this area.

“There were lots of good things, especially at the start of the match, we managed to put our game in place, press high, achieve a goal even if it’s from a set piece.

“We had a second part where we had more trouble. We fell back, we had trouble recovering the ball, in the duel.

“We were beaten in the impact, it shows that we still have a long way to go to be on top. It will have to be next Sunday.

“I think it was important to have a Premier League side used to putting on some intensity every weekend.

“We see a little difference with us. In football, we competed with them. In terms of impact, commitment, we were beaten. This is where we need to improve.”