Yet although Villa made the perfect start, their progress to the next round and the meeting with Swiss outfit Basle was by no means a foregone conclusion.
Rennes, who were trounced 5-0 by Auxerre on the first day of the French League last Saturday, showed their determination not to buckle and it required a couple of excellent saves by Villa goal-keeper Peter Enckelman to protect Villa's slender lead.
Enckelman, deputising yet again for the Dane Peter Schmeichel who is still receiving treatment for a calf injury, made two superb saves in the space of a minute to keep out an effort by Cyril Chapuis and then block a close-range header by Olivier Monterubbio.
Monterubbio, a 24-year-old capture from last season's French champions Nantes, for whom he scored 23 goals in 82 appearances, looked a very dangerous prospect indeed for a Villa defence without their recent signing Olof Mellberg, who is Cup tied.
Villa were also stretched when they were torn asunder by a fine run by winger Cyril Yapi whose cross gave Monterrubio an opportunity but his shot was deflected wide by Alpay.
Villa, in fact, struggled to find a great deal of fluency in the first-half. Dublin never had another look in and the French defence, though continually taunted by Ginola throughout the 90 minutes, looked pretty solid overall.
Rennes' superior fitness put them on the offensive in the second half and it required yet another outstanding save by Enckelman from Chapuis to keep their slender away-goal advantage intact.
It was a case of Villa hanging on rather than threatening a second goal although Dublin had a header disallowed for offside.
