After making a bright start, the visitors looked destined to go behind when goalkeeper Anthony Lopes was forced to scurry off his line in an attempt to reach Douglas Augusto’s horrendous backpass, only to scythe down Musa Al-Taamari, gifting the Red and Blacks a penalty.
Arnaud Kalimuendo converted the resulting spot-kick, but it was ruled out for a double-touch, as the striker fired his shot against his standing foot.
Undeterred, the hosts pressed on, and only a sensational double save from Lopes kept them at bay, with Seko Fofana and Azor Matusiwa being the men denied.
It was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken, though, and captain Adrien Truffert duly made it 1-0 with a clinical, angled strike that he fired into the far corner from the left-hand side of the area.
Jeremy Jacquet could then have doubled the lead before the break, but his looped header landed on top of the crossbar.
Overall, it was an incredibly poor half for the Canaries, although not entirely unexpected, given they were winless in the previous 11 away meetings with Rennes.
Their night soon improved, though, as Mostafa Mohamed converted an equaliser with his side’s first shot on target, tucking home after the ball kindly fell his way in the box.
That proved to be only a brief moment of salvation, however, as within minutes of going level, Nantes were reduced to 10 men.
Marcus Coco, who was shepherding the ball out of play, was sent off following VAR intervention for a needless elbow on Truffert. From then on, it was largely one-way traffic, although their visitors made things difficult by sticking men behind the ball and protecting their point.
Lilian Brassier and Anthony Rouault came particularly close for Habib Beye’s men as they pushed for a winner, and they eventually prevailed in the 86th minute, when Truffert delivered an inviting cross from the left that was headed in off the bar by Meite.
There was insufficient time for another Nantes response, as Rennes moved 11 points clear of the bottom three with a seventh win in their last 11 outings. For their part, Nantes remain just three points above the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Adrien Truffert (Stade Rennais)
