Tops
Moukoudi closed the breaches
Lacking control during the last meetings in Saint-Etienne, and clearly involved in Rennes goals in the second half seven days earlier, Harold Moukoudi was clean for Lens. Confirmed alongside an overtaken Kolo from the thirteenth minute of play, he then perfectly supported the young Sow for his first in the French top flight. Containing somehow the regular crosses of Clauss, he could only see the damage on the two goals conceded by the Stéphanois. Kolo already suspended for the next match, Moukoudi has two weeks to assert himself in this defensive axis, and take on the role of defensive boss left vacant by Fofana.
Aouchiche, unique creator
Like the meeting delivered against Rennes last Saturday, Adil Aouchiche is gradually making his mark in this group from Saint-Etienne. Scorer in Nantes, he has since been the most creative player in the attacking quartet. Always offering pass solutions to his teammates, he is still in control of the rare situations obtained in the first period. However, left at the break, and replaced by Khazri.
The flops
Khazri, twenty minutes flat
Entered into play at the break instead of Aouchiche, the Tunisian, present for the first time this season in this group from Saint-Etienne, was undoubtedly keen to show himself. Either to catch the eye of other clubs or to show he belongs in this squad. Not really inspired by these set pieces, he is one of the players in the recovery of form at the start of the second half despite the numerical inferiority. Only, when the sixty-fifth minute comes, he inherits an ideal deep ball. Ahead of Medina, he pays a little reduced speed but throws himself at all costs in a duel lost in advance. The Lensois defender intercepts the ball, and then sees the Tunisian’s crampons hit him head on. Red for the Stéphanois who leaves his partners to finish nine, twenty minutes after coming into play.
Kolo overtaken and severely punished
Yes, the red addressed to Kolodziejczak is severe. After a revision of the VAR and a slow motion that truncates any reality of the game, the Saint-Etienne defender was sent back to the locker room prematurely, despite Ganago’s unfortunate sprain. However, this does not explain an unnecessary gesture after being caught failing on a directed control of the Lensois attacker. Surprised by this support, Kolo saw fit to try to make up for an irrecoverable error in the truth surface. A terrible lack of lucidity for one of the executives of this bottle-feeding class of which he was the only player to have played more than 100 Ligue 1 matches at kick-off.
Bouanga is not there
Scorer against Strasbourg and Marseille, the top scorer from Saint-Etienne last season had masked his lack of weight in the game of the Greens. But against Rennes and Lens, it has clearly disappeared from circulation. Dangerous once per game, he seems to be out of touch with the game of his teammates. Like the previous week, the Gabonese got a very dangerous opportunity which can tip the game on the right side from the start of the game. This Saturday, it is Leca who leaves his only parade of the match to prevent him (2nd). Then, no more signal. Admittedly, the striker was not helped by this meeting disputed almost entirely in numerical inferiority, and by his unusual role of center-forward. However, at no time did he seem able to take matters into his own hands to meet this formation lacking leaders.