The identity of the two teams present on the Bollaert pitch left little hope for the Parisians of spending the holidays at the top of the Championship. A point behind RC Lens ahead of this 16th day, Paris Saint-Germain painfully secured the essentials in Metz on Saturday (3-2), but the Sang et Or chased them from their throne of leader less than 24 hours later.
Buoyed by the efficiency of Odsonne Édouard, the Artésiens stretched the Nice crisis (2-0) to a ninth defeat in a row in all competitions, while extending their unbeaten streak to six games in Ligue 1. The Lensois have not left the top of the ranking for three games, a totally unpredictable accomplishment at the start of the season.
Acquisition of Bollaert
Lens’ superiority seemed obvious before kick-off. It materialized after a quarter of an hour of play, with this cross perfectly brushed by Matthieu Udol for Édouard’s uncrossed header (1-0, 15th). However, Lens benefited from the clumsiness of the Nice attackers and the saves of its young goalkeeper Robin Risser (21 years old).
A little out of breath, the L1 leaders did not reign in the game, but the break goal again came from the left paw of Udol and the head of Édouard (2-0, 57th), author of his 6th and 7th goals of the exercise. They mastered the end of the game to record a twelfth success in sixteen matches. The RCL thus completes an exceptional first half of the season and a historic day: the club has formalized the purchase of the Bollaert-Delelis stadium, which until now belonged to the city of Lens.
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