Yet they are neck and neck. Victorious against Rennes this Saturday on the 21st day (3-1), RC Lens continues to fight with Paris Saint-Germain for first place in the French Championship.
This success, acquired thanks to goals from Odsonne Édouard (41st), Ruben Aguilar (54th) and Allan Saint-Maximin (78th), who responded to Esteban Lepaul’s opener (8th), allows the Sang et Or (49 points) to regain the lead in the standings. The pressure is now on the Parisian club (48 pts), which faces Marseille in the classic on Sunday (8:45 p.m.).
But Lensois coach Pierre Sage still refuses to believe in a real fight against the European champion, with much greater financial resources and squad, preferring to initially aim for qualification for a European competition.
“We are completely freeing ourselves from this thing,” he said. We had a 52-point checkpoint. Once we have achieved this objective, we will be able to begin to draw up other ambitions. But in all cases, we are ahead of the cruising speed of what may have happened in the past. »
A record series
Asked about the expected result during the classic at the Parc des Princes, the Jurassien chose “a draw because there will only be two points distributed”, which confirms his desire to consider Marseille (3rd, 39 pts) and Lyon (4th, 39 pts) as his first opponents.
This tenth home success in a row allowed the Artesian club to equal its record of consecutive victories, established during the 2022-2023 season, finished in second place. “We are in a position to break the record, so much the better,” rejoiced Sage. In any case, the fact of having reacted after our defeat in Marseille (3-1) by stringing together three victories in seven days is very positive. It’s also a sign of teams that are capable of getting their feet stuck and getting back on track. I think we are that team. »
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