Clinical Hamburg outgun Rennes

Rafael van der Vaart scored one and created another as Hamburger SV went top of UEFA Cup Group D on the day coach Huub Stevens turned 54 with a convincing defeat of Stade Rennais FC.

Second win
Hamburg had won 1-0 at SK Brann on Matchday 1 and against a team with one point from two games, Van der Vaart got the ball rolling with a neat finish on the half-hour before providing the assist for substitute Eric-Maxim Choup-Moting six minutes from time. Substitute Mohamed Zidan converted a 91st-minute penalty as the Bundesliga club climbed above FC Basel 1893, with Rennes at the opposite end of the table.

Opener
Just three minutes had elapsed when Van der Vaart had a go from the edge of the area, prompting team-mate Romeo Castelen to send three long-range efforts of his own over the bar. In between, Rennes striker Jimmy Briand curled a shot wide and then forced goalkeeper Frank Rost to tip a low attempt around the post. Having overcome those scares, Hamburg took control and Ivica Olić made the opener as he found space on the left and crossed for Van der Vaart to side-foot into the bottom corner.

Rennes thwarted
Vincent Kompany and Piotr Trochowski tried their luck for the hosts in the early stages of the second half, while at the other end Petter Hansson shot straight at Rost in the 62nd minute. The trend continued with Briand slicing Olivier Sorlin's centre at Rost and Bruno Cheyrou also providing an attacking edge for the Ligue 1 side. Nonetheless Hamburg scored the game's second goal when Van der Vaart cut inside and fed the ball into the path of Choup-Moting who drilled it into the bottom corner. Zidan completed the victory from the spot after being fouled by Guillaume Borne.