Overturned in Nice (2-1) Wednesday night, the Sang et Or have not won for a month and a half in the league. A dynamic which can be explained by opposite scenarios which are repeated.
The hard law of series. Irresistible before the international break in November, RC Lens has not won since. A month without a victory in Ligue 1 and a repetition of opposite scenarios, as in Nice this Wednesday (1-2), the climax of an end of the first part of the season where the Artois club has seriously run out of steam. According to a scenario specific to their last five matches (three draws, two defeats), the Northerners led the score at the Allianz Riviera thanks to an achievement by Arnaud Kalimuendo before the break (30th), before being joined and then overtaken by the Aiglons, as in Nantes two weeks earlier (2-3), overthrown by the Canaries when they had two goals ahead at half-time.
«It may have created a bit of doubts about the scenarios of recent times., agreed after the defeat in Nice the coach Franck Haise on the club channel. Confidence is a bit impaired. It’s frustrating not to take at least a point and see those scenarios repeat themselves, but it’s part of football.The festival against Troyes on November 5 (4-0), which installed Lens as an exciting runner-up for PSG on the evening of the 13th day, now seems a long way off. From now on, it is OGC Nice which ends the first leg behind PSG, six points ahead of Lensois who have only taken three points out of 18 possible since mid-November.
In search of defensive stability
Several avenues can be used to explain this sharp drop in speed, materialized by a relegation rate only higher than those of Lorient (19th) and Saint-Etienne (20th). Starting with a defensive strength undermined since the rout in Brest on November 21 (0-4), the starting point of the black series. Apart from the draw snatched from Bollaert by PSG (1-1, 4 December), the Sang et Or have always conceded at least two goals per game (14 goals conceded in six matches). An evil which Haise had tried to respond to for the trip to Nice, by installing a system that corresponded more to a defense of five, unlike usually three, in order to block the corridors of the Riviera. But under pressure from the locals, the artoise defense ended up folding after the hour mark.
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Reinstalled in front of the defense for two matches, captain Yannick Cahuzac also sees his responsibility engaged on the two goals of the Aiglons (63rd, 79th), where he lacked promptness. Symptomatic of a less sharp team and which has all the trouble in the world to finish its matches … and the first leg. Even if the Northerners remain faithful to their offensive inclinations (8 goals scored in the last five matches). “We are not dumped in the game but we must do a little more, urges Haise. It is clear that there are six matches, I thought we would pass the 30-point bar but there is a bit of disappointment.»
Northern Derby to start 2022
When it comes time to do the math, Lens is back in line (9th, 27 points), far from its standards at the start of the season and even behind on its record of last season (30 points). The neighbor and enemy from Lille, who struggled to digest his title of champion of France, even passed before the winter break, at the cost of his mental success in Bordeaux (3-2). The two teams will meet again for the first meeting of 2022, on January 4, in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
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An already crucial deadline. “We will have a few days to recover, starting with the players, breathes the technician from Artois. I told them to come back with great appetite and ambition in a few days. It will be up to us to get back to a positive dynamic. We will have to attack 2022 with long teeth.The only pitfall, the RCL is preparing to lose driving forces with the expiry of the CAN (January 9-February 6), starting with its midfielder Seko Fofana, who is among the very best players in the elite. But the Lensois are far-sighted, as evidenced by the early signing of Norwegian midfielder Patrick Berg (24), who should contribute to a Racing in search of a new dynamic in 2022. Because in view of this first part of the season , the RCL’s place is much further north in the ranking.
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