Though triumphant in midweek, Adi Hutter's men were yet to win a domestic match in 2025, so the degree by which they started on top was surprising.
They should have taken the lead when Mika Biereth put Takumi Minamino through on goal, who could only fire an effort straight at Brice Samba to give Rennes a huge let-off.
And Monaco’s fantastic start to the game yielded a just reward, as Maghnes Akliouche scored with an unbelievable overhead kick 15 minutes in, after being picked out by Vanderson in the area.
Rennes had started the game half-asleep, and were very fortunate not to find themselves even further behind when Aleksandr Golovin was allowed to waltz into the area and crash a powerful effort against the crossbar.
After surviving a first-half onslaught, Rennes then equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Ludovic Blas' effort was criminally pushed into the path of Mahamadou Nagida by Radosław Majecki, giving the midfielder an easy tap-in of an equaliser.
Monaco didn’t let conceding just before the break affect their confidence, and they started the second half at a terrific pace.
And after Biereth missed a chance early on, he made no mistake 52 minutes in, firing home a low effort that squeezed under the distraught Samba after being played through on goal by Lamine Camara.
Rennes continued being below-par despite once more having a game to chase, and Monaco soon extended their lead to 3-1 when Akliouche turned provider to tee up Golovin at the back post to poke the ball home.
But Rennes didn’t know when they were beaten, and after narrowly sending a curling effort wide of the post, Amine Gouiri scored his third goal of the season when a Thilo Kehrer failed clearance gave him an easy finish to make it 3-2.
That set up a nervy final 20 minutes for the home side, who defended well to see out a win that hands them consecutive victories for the first time in over two months, while moving them up into third in Ligue 1.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco)
