Historic clubs of the French Championship, the Racing Club de Lens and AS Saint-Étienne met this Saturday afternoon near the Stade Felix Bollaert-Delelis. Despite his promoted status, Lens advanced as seventh in Ligue 1 while AS Saint-Étienne was fifth. For this meeting, the Northerners presented themselves in their traditional 3-5-2 with Jean-Louis Leca in the cages in front of Jonathan Gradit, Loïc Badé and Facundo Medina. The roles of pistons were performed by Jonathan Clauss and Massadio Haïdara. Yannick Cahuzac and Cheick Doucouré made up the double pivot while Gaël Kakuta supported Florian Sotoca and Ignatius Ganago in attack. For its part, AS Saint-Étienne was betting on a 4-2-3-1 with Jessy Moulin as the last bulwark. He benefited from a defense made up of Alpha Sissoko, Harold Moukoudi, Timothée Kolodziejczak and Yvann Maçon. Yvan Neyou and Mahdi Camara found themselves at the heart of the game while Denis Bouanga, Adil Aouchiche and Maxence Rivera moved up a notch just behind Arnaud Nordin.
And the least we can say is that we shouldn’t be late for this meeting. Lens played without complex and secured the very first opportunity of the game. Found on the right Jonahtan Clauss overflowed and crossed in front of goal. Florian Sotoca faded at the right time while he was at the near post. Surprised, Timothée Kolodziejczak inadvertently deflected for a corner (2nd). Already in difficulty, the former Niçois would make a serious mistake in the process. Launched on the right of the surface, Ignatius Ganago was mowed down by Timothée Kolodziejczak and Bastien Dechepy pointed to the small white point (10th). After watching the video refereeing, he delivered a red card to the Stéphane defender since the gesture was not controlled. With a heavy strike from the left in the right window of Jessy Moulin, Gaël Kakuta transformed the sentence (1-0, 15th). Unfortunately, Lens had to do without Ignatius Ganago forced to leave on injury and replaced by Simon Banza (16th). At ten, Saint-Étienne had to strengthen his defense with Saïdou Sow and Maxence Rivera paid the price (16th).
AS Saint-Étienne finished fresh
In this particular context, Lens continued its march forward. On the left, Gaël Kakuta kicked a free kick towards the opposing goal. At the near post, Facundo Medina was distinguished by a deviation towards the small right net which left no chance for the goalkeeper (20th). However, his goal was refused after using video refereeing (22nd). A relief for Claude Puel’s team who suffered. Beaten in the duels, the Stéphanois saw the locals get the best opportunities. Lacking in realism, Lens returned to the locker room with a 1-0 advantage and returned with good intentions. Found on the right side Jonathan Clauss struck well and centered towards the surface and Jessy Moulin pushed back in front of his goal. Florian Sotoca followed well, but well hampered by the goalkeeper, he struck over the open goal (46th). Saint-Étienne, who had brought Wahbi Khazri into the break, did not seem able to react. Better, Lens continued to provide opportunities like a distant strike from Jonathan Clauss (53rd).
Served full axis by Gaël Kakuta, Cheick Doucouré struck from afar, but his attempt flew into the stands (60th). The situation was complicated for AS Saint-Étienne when Wahbi Khazri tackled Jonathan Gradit in front of the opposing area. Completely late, the Tunisian received a red card and left his team at nine (65th). Found on the right in front of the opponent’s area, Massadio Haïdara unleashed a heavy shot at ground level which failed to catch the frame (72nd). The clock continued to run and Lens tried to take cover for good. This goal came from a corner. On the left, Tony Mauricio delivered a corner to the near post. Florian Sotoca rose in the air and placed the sphere on the left of the goal (2-0, 81st). With a more comfortable mattress, Lens held on and ultimately won 2-0. A result that allows Lens to rank second in Ligue 1 and return to the height of the leader, Stade Rennais.
The classification of Ligue 1