Going into the final game of the season, hopes of glory for both Lens and Monaco were still alive, albeit very unlikely. Monaco could potentially turn out as champions, yet they needed a win, both Lille and Paris Saint-Germain to lose and to make up a considerable gap in goal difference with Lille for it to become a reality. Really they were just looking to hold onto their Champions League spot ahead of Lyon.
Likewise, to squeeze into the final Europa League spot for next season, Lens needed a win, Marseille to lose and to make up their six goal gap in goal difference with Marseille. More likely was holding onto their place in the lesser UEFA Conference League ahead of Rennes, who started the round of fixtures one point behind them.
Franck Haise made three changes to the team that lost to Bordeaux. Massadio Haïdara came back from injury and Florian Sotoca returned from suspension, seeing Ismaël Boura and Simon Banza drop to the bench. Gaël Kakuta’s involvement was uncertain and he was deemed only fit enough to feature as a substitute, meaning Lens switched away from their usual 3-4-1-2 formation to a 3-5-2 as Yannick Cahuzac stepped in to take his place.
Niko Kovac made three changes to the side that lost the Coupe de France to PSG in mid-week. Benjamin Lecomte took his regular place in goal from cup keeper Radoslaw Majecki, Gelson Martins replaced Ruben Aguilar on the right and Benoît Badiashile came into the defence in place of Axel Disasi. Monaco set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape.
Monaco dominated possession. They would build up in a 3-2-5 shape, with Djibril Sidibé staying back alongside the centre-backs while Caio Henrique would push forward into attack.
Lens struggled to press Monaco. Seko Fofana was expected to vacate the midfield in order to push out and close down Sidibé however Sidibé would pull wide and stay deep, meaning it was a struggle for Fofana to get out to him in time. Fofana being dragged forward also left gaps behind him in midfield for Wissam Ben Yedder or Kevin Volland to pick up the ball.
These players were rarely able to turn though. Lens weren’t able to disrupt Monaco’s build-up but with a back five and two, possibly three, midfielders in front of them, they had plenty of men back in defence. Ben Yedder would drop back on the right and Aleksandr Golovin found pockets of space on the left, aided by the distraction of the overlapping Caio, however they still received the ball with a packed defence in front of them. They weren’t stretching this defence either: Caio provided width on the left, but Martins was usually tucking in off the right, meaning they were left congested and therefore easy for Lens to frustrate.
While successful defensively, Lens were offering next to nothing going forward. Their backline were comfortable enough on the ball to evade the pressure of Monaco’s forwards – Golovin, Ben Yedder and Martins each closing down a centre-back – but they were struggling to progress the ball into attack. Most of their attacks came from counter-attacks but Monaco had that solid defensive base of two midfielders and three defenders to snuff them out.
The match followed the same repeating pattern: Monaco had a long spell of possession; they couldn’t break down Lens’ defence; they gave the ball away; Lens countered; Monaco recovered the ball. Both teams continued to push for goals rather than allowing the game to fizzle out, but there was never any breakthrough.
Lyon losing meant Monaco stayed in third pace, but a draw saw Lens drop to seventh after Rennes beat Nîmes. Losing out on European football is a disappointment for Lens after a fantastic season, however it’s hard for supporters to feel too down when most would have considered avoiding relegation a success back in August.
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