Lens came into this match in bad form, but the night was to be a special occasion: for La Fête de la Sainte-Barbe, patron saint of miners and firefighters, the home side played in a one-off kit paying tribute to its mining heritage. It was a reminder of the hard work needed and expected of the team as it faced off against the dominant force in Ligue 1.
Franck Haise made three changes to the side that drew with Clermont, bringing in Facundo Medina, Gaël Kakuta and David Costa for Massadio Haïdara, Yannick Cahuzac and Florian Sotoca. This saw Lens switch to a 3-4-3 formation.
Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the team that drew with Nice, swapping out Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nuno Mendes, Idrissa Gueye, Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe and Kylian Mbappé for Keylor Navas, Juan Bernat, Leandro Paredes, Marco Verratti and Mauro Icardi, setting up in a 4-2-3-1 shape.
Lens succeeded in interrupting Paris Saint-Germain’s passing by pressing high up the pitch. Their front three took up quite narrow positions that allowed them to block passes into Danilo Pereira and Paredes and from there they would pressure the centre-backs, with Kakuta stepping up to press Presnel Kimpembe while Arnaud Kalimuendo and Costa stayed with Danilo and Paredes when PSG played left, and Costa stepping up to press Marquinhos while Kalimuendo and Kakuta stayed with Danilo and Paredes when PSG played right.
This press was supported well by those behind them, with Seko Fofana pushing forward to stick to Paredes when he left the forwards’ zone, and Cheick Docuouré sticking to Verratti when he dropped deep to help PSG play out. The wing-backs also positioned themselves high to press PSG’s full-backs, while Jonathan Gradit and Medina were willing to step out into midfield to limit the space available to PSG’s attackers.
This was a dangerous strategy by Lens, leaving their defenders isolated, but PSG were unable to punish them. Had Mbappé started, they could have hit long balls for him to chase and made use of the space Lens were leaving them, however Pochettino’s chosen attackers didn’t suit direct play.
If PSG managed to evade Lens’ press then the home side would get back quickly into a 5-4-1 shape that kept them solid through the centre. Kalimuendo would block passes into the midfield, while Kakuta and Costa would tuck inside, crowding the midfield with Fofana and Docuouré. If PSG then passed into space out wide, then the wingers could come across to close them down against the touchline, while the back five offered the defensive width for the wing-backs to remain close to Achraf Hakimi and Bernat without sacrificing defensive solidity in the centre. Lens were blocking up the centre to force PSG wide, then leaving them with no way of coming inside once they passed to the flanks, forcing them to go backwards.
Lionel Messi was really struggling to have any influence on the game, shadowed well by his compatriot Medina. The Argentinian was constantly having to drop deep to get any touches on the ball, while Verratti was forever coming deep too. When Lens weren’t pressing, PSG were able to maintain possession, but only in unthreatening areas, with their forwards left isolated.
Lens also found joy in attack. PSG would press to surround the area close to the ball but would fail to push up and support this press, meaning that Lens’ defenders, all comfortable in possession, could pass through this pressure to a free man and break forward.
Part way through the first half, PSG switched to a 4-3-3. This was a more natural fit for their players: Verratti was dropping back constantly anyway so him moving into midfield made sense, while Messi was pulling wide to get on the ball so him moving right also made sense. The only real change was Angel Di Maria swapping to the left – the Argentinian had been largely anonymous, but his positioning had at least given Lens something to think about, as, when Messi would drop deep and Medina followed, Di Maria would often position himself in the space Medina left. It was yet to pay off, but by swapping Di Maria to the left, Lens’ marking became a lot simpler, with each centre-back picking up a forward.
This change did nothing to help PSG defensively. The front three would pressure the centre-backs, but Lens outnumbered PSG in midfield four-to-three, so they were frequently able to find a free man in midfield and cut through the Parisians.
Lens had also been able to exploit a similar problem on the left. Hakimi would be drawn out of the backline to support the PSG press by getting tight to Przemyslaw Frankowski, only for Costa to make a run behind him into the space the full-back had left.
Before the end of the half, PSG had reverted back to their original 4-2-3-1 scheme, but at half-time Pochettino switched them to a 3-5-2, as Danilo dropped back into defence. This made it easier for Bernat and Hakimi to step out and deal with Lens’ wing-backs without leaving space behind them for Lens’ attackers, but it only worsened the issue in midfield where PSG were outnumbered, especially as Di Maria would frequently push forward into attack. Lens’ press continued to function the same, with the three forwards blocking passes into midfield before pressing the back three and Fofana and Doucouré pushing up onto Paredes and Verratti to support the press. As a result Lens were even more dominant than before.
Lens took the lead with half an hour to go. Sotoca, a substitute for the injured Kakuta, forced Navas into going long with his pressing, handing the ball back to Lens. PSG appeared to win it back only for Messi to go down injured from a clean tackle by Medina. Paredes had been drawn over to the right while Verratti was drawn forward towards Doucouré, leaving Fofana free to receive the ball in space outside the box, made even easier because PSG’s players simply stopped playing, too accustomed to referees succumbing to their every whim. Fofana took the opportunity to shoot from distance, with Navas’ weak save not enough to stop the ball crossing the line.
Now behind, Pochettino made three like-for-like but attacking changes, bringing on Georginio Wijnaldum, Mbappé and Gueye for Paredes, Icardi and Danilo. This saw PSG revert back to a 4-3-3 shape.
Lens looked the likelier to get the next goal though, frequently catching out PSG on the counter but never quite able to finish off their attacks. They also did a good job of slowing down the game to see it out when these attacks broke down, switching from rapid breaks to glacial passing when an opportunity had fizzled out.
To shore Lens up defensively, Haise substituted Kalimuendo and Costa for Cahuzac and Haïdara, moving Frankowski into midfield.
They were unable to hold out though. Two of the substitutes combined to see PSG equalise in injury time, with Mbappé pulling wide and crossing for Wijnaldum to finish.
Although the late goal was disappointing, it was an incredible performance by Lens that they should be proud of. The end result showed the difference in quality between the two sides though: Lens dominated and could have had several more goals but spurned their opportunities, whereas PSG were very poor yet still able to nick a goal from nothing.
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