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RC Lens – OL : match notes

For the last meeting of this 9th day of Ligue 1, Lens hosted Olympique Lyonnais at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium. A great duel between two teams who could hope to stay in contact with the podium at the end of this game. In this little game, the Lensois took the best of the Lyonnais after an almost one-sided meeting (0-0). The two teams could not make the difference after a first period poor in opportunity. The only hot situation on the Lyon side came from a blocked shot from Alexandre Lacazette which fell on the crossbar of Brice Samba (27th). On the Lensois side, despite an admittedly sterile domination, the Northerners had to settle for a face to face loss by Facundo Medina against Anthony Lopes (38th). Just before the break, Loïs Openda placed his header on a cross from the left but found the Lyon goalkeeper on the trajectory (45th). Without consequence since the attacker was finally signaled in an offside position. An action on both sides therefore at the break in a disappointing meeting so far.

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Upon returning from the locker room, the Lensois returned to the lawn with the same ambitions while their opponent still could not put their game in place. Following a long opening from Massadio Haïdara, the number 11 northerner fired a low cross shot that Anthony Lopes diverted from the shin near his post (46th). The Lyonnais then tried to play on the counter-attack to surprise the Lensoise domination but a glaring lack of efficiency in the last pass did not allow them to approach close enough to Brice Samba to worry him (55th). The Artesians continued to attack despite everything without being rewarded. The Belgian striker from RC Lens also had a new opportunity on the hour mark but his shot was easily captured by an attentive Anthony Lopes (60th). The meeting then fell into a false rhythm despite the Lensois assaults until the sudden strike from outside the area, on a poor clearance by the Lyon defense, from Jimmy Cabot who crashed into the post of Anthony Lopes ( 75th). In the process, Anthony Lopes still performed a small miracle. Served at the penalty spot, Wesley Saïd took over in first intention from the left but the Lyon goalkeeper, well placed on his line, could intervene (77th, 1-0). In the last ten minutes, on a free kick from Jimmy Cabot along the touchline, Facundo Medina headed the ball in front of Lopes’ goal, but Mendes blocked his attempt with his hand, which gave a penalty for Lens! Florian Sotoca did not need to be asked and transformed the sentence (82nd, 1-0). After that, the Lyon reaction did not take place and the Lensois could then exult. Thanks to this victory, Lens consolidates its 4th place and comes back to a small point behind Lorient, 3rd. OL, on the other hand, remain glued to 7th place in the standings.

Man of the match: Cabot (7.5): arrived from Angers this summer, the right piston quickly imposed itself in its corridor. Important for his offensive and defensive runs, he was also very precise on set pieces, regularly distilling good dangerous balls in the last meters of Lyon. His very good match could have been rewarded with a goal if he had not seen his shot fail on the right upright of Anthony Lopes (75th).

RC Lens

  • Samba (5) : the tranquility of the former Nottingham Red was almost disturbed if Alexandre Lacazette’s strike – deflected by one of his defenders – had not ultimately failed on the top of his crossbar. Very little worried, he made a footwork error which could have cost him dearly (65th), but which he ultimately made up for very well.

  • Dance (6,5) : the aptly named “power from Austria” could have put his own in front if he had managed to dominate his balloons (23rd, 76th). Dominant in the duels on the ground (6 out of 7 won), he was also interesting thanks to his long game (4 passes out of 8 successful), but also reassured Brice Samba, notably cutting a potentially dangerous cross from Karl Toko Ekambi.

  • Medina (5,5) : upon receiving an ultra-fast transition action initiated by his teammates, the Argentinian defender had the misfortune to stumble on the Lyon goalkeeper, who was no less fast in his exit (38th). Defensive player perhaps the least highlighted this evening, Facundo Medina has somewhat fished in the technical aspect, losing in particular 13 balls. Clean in his defensive game, well helped by the chronic impossibility of Lyon to attack, he offered a performance without a hitch.

  • Haidara (6.5): placed to the right of the central hinge of RC Lens, the Malian delivered a very solid performance on the occasion of his hundredth Ligue 1 match. Winning 9 of his 12 duels, this physical domination is felt in particular in his defensive statistics : 3 clearances, 3 interceptions, 2 tackles and a shot blocked. 90 high-flying minutes for the former Newcastle player.

  • Cabot (7,5) : see above

  • Abdul Samed (7) : Although he has only been Lensois for a few weeks, it is as if he had been in the middle of the northern club for several seasons. Positioned below his captain, the former Clermontois notably distinguished himself by quality defensive work coupled with a passing game imbued with precision (95%, 55 successful passes out of 58 attempted).

  • Breath (4,5): captain Sang et Or, lined up alongside Salis Abdul Samed, was less prominent than his teammate. In the first period, he did not, for example, win any of the 4 duels he faced, also losing 7 of the 28 balls he touched. In the end, not very prominent despite the wide domination of Lens, the Ivorian did not play a game similar to those to which he has accustomed us for many months. Replaced by Jean Onana (86th).

  • Machado (5) : Jimmy Cabot’s left-handed counterpart also proved dangerous. Author of 3 key passes, he multiplied the races forward, but also filled the various offensive climbs of his teammates in the defense. Present in the opposing area, he was also not bothered by the rare incursion attempts of his direct opponent. Remplacé par Przemyslaw Frankowski (78e).

  • Undercoat (6.5) : author of many dropouts, the number 7 lensois has not deviated from his good habits to participate in the game of his team. Remarkably active, the man with 5 goals this season won the majority of his duels, but lost a large number of balls (17). An understandable statistic in view of the many efforts made by the 31-year-old player who, however, never gave up trying to win the ball, perhaps sometimes lacking a touch of lucidity, as evidenced by the red card he bailed (77th). But it did him good because he put his own in front, converting a penalty ten minutes from the end of the game. Replaced by Adam Buksa (86th).

  • Analysts (6,5) : lined up at the forefront of the Lensoise attack, the Belgian played with his speed to try to take the Lyon defense from behind. Never refusing to go and tickle the opposing defenders, the former Club Brugge also called on the opposing goalkeeper at two pivotal moments in the match (45th, 46th). Replaced by Wesley Said (71st) back after three games, which was very close to being decisive (76th).

  • Pereira Da Costa (6.5) : the young and very restless Portuguese player was a few centimeters from deceiving Anthony Lopes, before finally missing his technical gesture (32nd). The most dangerous player of the first act, he was also (certainly less) during the second, as evidenced by his shot soaring above the Lyon cages (63rd). Replaced by Alexis Claude-Maurice (71e).

Olympique Lyonnais

  • Lopes (7) : an excellent exit in front of Medina (38th), before a superb save on a header from Openda (45th). In the second half, he even made a decisive reflex save in front of Saïd (77th), before being saved by his post just after. With a total of five important saves, he saved OL throughout the match. It’s a cruel result for him, as he just missed touching the ball on Sotoca’s penalty. The only positive Lyon element of the evening.

  • Henrique (3,5) : already that he hasn’t played much since the arrival of Tagliafico, starting him on the right flank was not a gift. Faced with the Lensoise attack, the Brazilian has often been in difficulty.

  • T.Mendes (4) : a bad alignment (33rd) and some mistakes in his placement. But overall, he did the job in the absence of Lukeba, but made a stupid mistake by touching the ball with his hand on the Lensois free kick and offered them a penalty.

  • Diomande (6) : a good comeback to report (16th) and a big duel won in front of Openda (22nd) and a decisive intervention in front of goal (55th). Back from a big injury, he surely won a lot of points after this good performance, where he made very few mistakes. Diomandé can even claim a better place in the hierarchy of Lyon defenders.

  • Tagliafico (4) : he was often late defensively against the Pereira-Sotoca duo and was also quickly warned (21st). The Argentinian often lacked speed against the northern attack. Offensively, he projected himself a lot to try to find Lacazette and Cherki, but it never came to anything. Replaced by Kumbedi, who was making his debut in the professional world (73rd)

  • Lepenant (5.5): Like the Lyon midfielder, he struggled to exist against the much better organized Lensois. He was, however, the only one to try to break the lines and find the attacking trio and even fell back a lot after the break to help his central hinge. But it was too complicated this Sunday for the ex-Caennais, not helped by his partners.

  • Caqueret (3) : a dangerous ball loss (40th), for a total of 7 lost balls and 5 missed duels. Lyon’s worst record at the break. The Lyon midfielder had a lot of trouble coming out and winning against the Lensois pressing. After the break, it was no better and he was greatly disappointed on the Lensoise lawn where he did not seem to know what to do when he had the ball in his foot. A very disappointing match, when you know what he is capable of.

  • Cherki (5) : for his tenth start in Ligue 1, the international Espoirs was lined up behind Lacazette, in order to allow his captain to win. If it was not decisive, it was interesting in the conservation of the ball and to find Tetê and Toko Ekambi. But his lack of playing time was quickly felt. An interesting first for this post. Replaced by Reine-Adelaide (74th)which did nothing.

  • Ekambi Store (3.5): How to rate the Lyon strikers in a match where OL did not target the slightest shot? In the 4-4-2 used by Bosz, Toko Ekambi often found himself alone and did not even have a single opportunity to get. He touched 43 balls in this meeting and was even forced to go down to scrape balls. A very tough match for the Cameroonian.

  • Tete (4) : same observation as for its left counterpart. However, he tried to make calls and bring, but it was very complicated against a perfectly tuned northern defense. It’s hard for the Brazilian.

  • Lacazette (3) : he appeared to be annoyed throughout the game and missed being warned for a moody gesture. Because it is true that on the ground, it was complicated for the captain of Les Gones. In a lower position than usual, where Cherki often took the axis, he almost did not exist and could only hit once on goal. A frustrating match, where he was even replaced by Barcola (76th).

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