Keystone
After the sensational championship title of OSC Lille two years ago, Paris Saint-Germain are again under pressure from a northern French team. This season, the RC Lens is making waves.
Live: Paris Saint-Germain – RC Lens
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The city of Lens has a little more than 32,000 inhabitants. The average attendance of the local football club this season is now just under 38,000 – all of the 15 league games so far have been sold out. Values that show that something special is happening at Racing Club de Lens.
With limited resources, a team has been put together that has only suffered three defeats this season. Thanks to 63 points from 30 games, Lens are second in Ligue 1 and are the first pursuers of the great Paris Saint-Germain. Six points are missing on the million club from the capital. The surprise team could halve the deficit on Saturday with an away win in the Prinzenpark.
The project does not seem entirely unrealistic. On January 1st, Lens inflicted PSG’s then-first defeat of the season. Prominent absentee was Lionel Messi, who had yet to return to the team after winning the world title. But Paris also weakened recently with the Argentine. The last two home games against Rennes and against Lyon were lost 0:2 and 0:1 respectively.
Best defense in the league
While the stars from Paris rarely harmonize, a collective of rather unknown players convinces at Lens. Captain is the Ivorian Seko Fofana, who has been playing for Lens since 2020 after successful years with Udinese. The 27-year-old can be found practically everywhere on the pitch and is a determined leader of the team.
Goalkeeper Brice Samba and striker Loïs Openda were important additions this season. Samba decided against the Premier League after promotion with Nottingham Forest. Thanks in part to him, Lens have the strongest defense in the league, conceding just 22 goals. The only 23-year-old Openda whirls in the storm. The Belgian, who was previously on loan at Vitesse Arnhem, currently has 15 goals and is behind Mbappé (19) in the scorer list but ahead of Messi (14).
Coach only without a diploma
Franck Haise was only the coach of the B team and was promoted to the first team shortly before the corona pandemic, which was still playing in the second division at the time. Despite the end of the season, second-placed Lens rose, after which Haise still had to acquire the required Ligue 1 license.
Under Haise, who celebrates his 52nd birthday on Saturday, the team placed 7th twice in a row. Now, should the really big coup not materialize (it would be the second championship title after 1998), the “Sang et Or” should at least succeed in breaking into European business.
However, there are still a few hurdles to overcome in the last eight rounds. After the duel with PSG, Lens will have the important home games against Monaco and Marseille, who are ranked 3rd and 4th in the table. The coach therefore knows: “We always have to be almost 100% up to the end. We can’t afford to slack off.”
sda
