Having endured an unwelcome break in their season, having two matches postponed due to a massive Covid-19 breakout in the squad, Lens could have had worse but also better returns than Reims: the away side failed to win any of their first seven matches, but are now on a streak having claimed six points in their last two games.
With Jonathan Gradit, Yannick Cahuzac and Clément Michelin suspended, Franck Haise was forced into making changes to the team that lost the Derby du Nord against Lille. Steven Fortes came into the backline, with Facundo Medina also returning from suspension, while young Ismaël Boura was chosen at left wing-back ahead of Massadio Haïdara and Issiaga Sylla. Cahuzac was replaced in midfield by Tony Mauricio and Corentin Jean made way for Simon Banza in attack, keeping to a 3-4-1-2 formation.
David Guion kept with the same eleven that started Reims’ win over Strasbourg, continuing in a 4-4-2 shape.
It was Lens who had control over the first half. Reims would sit in a narrow 4-4-2, presumably aiming to flood the centre to force Lens wide, however the home side still found themselves able to play through the middle with relative ease. With three centre-backs against two strikers, Lens were always able to pull Boulaye Dia and Kaj Sierhuis away and find an angle into Cheick Doucouré or Mauricio. This meant that Valon Berisha and Marshall Munetsi were having to track Doucouré and Mauricio, opening up gaps for Gaël Kakuta or Florian Sotoca to pick up the ball in between the lines.
Reims’ ineffectual attacking saw them simply push the wingers up to form a line of four against Lens’ five and so whenever they would lose the ball, Lens could counter straight through them as all their attackers were ahead of the ball.
Despite them finding success through the middle, Lens were still mainly relying on crosses in attack. Reims’ narrow shape gave Lens’ wing-backs plenty of space out wide to whip crosses into the box, however Jonathan Clauss and Boura were never quite able to hit their targets.
It took Mauricio taking a corner for Lens to finally make use of one of these crosses – Banza finishing as four Reims players all went for a header and missed.
Going behind finally woke up Reims. Rather than sitting back and still failing to stop Lens playing straight through them, they made more of an effort to chase down Lens’ centre-backs. To stop Dia and Sierhuis from being outnumbered, they would push forward a winger to join them, matching them three-against-three. Providing they were coming from a wide enough position to make it possible, the wingers would curve their runs to block the pass out to the wing-backs, cutting out the easy pass wide as they pressed the back three.
It was still possible to slip the ball through the gaps between Reims’ forwards to Docuouré and Mauricio though and so Berisha and Munetsi were forced into getting tight to the central midfielders. Fail to do so and the pair could just bounce the ball wide to the wing-backs, nullifying the Reims press.
Reims’ attacking strategy didn’t really become any more effectual but they did end up taking the lead just by running in behind Lens’ backline and exploiting mistakes. First Facundo Medina missed a header from a long ball, then Mathieu Cafaro sped ahead of Loïc Badé and squeezed a shot past Jean-Louis Leca at his near post. To take the lead minutes later, Dia ran onto a ball in behind and Leca made another hash of the save, letting the ball squirm underneath him despite getting a hand on it.
This turned the game on its head, with Reims now looking to protect their lead and Lens having to break them down. Reims shifted to a 4-5-1, with Dia dropping back to the right of midfield out of possession.
Lens changed first to a 4-3-1-2, swapping centre-back Fortes for an extra midfielder in David Costa alongside a host of like-for-like changes, then later to a 4-3-3, replacing Kakuta with Corentin Jean, who hugged the right touchline.
Lens’ equaliser saw Fodé Doucouré allow substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo a few yards on him as he back-pedalled. The teenager was always pulling out to the left and in this instance Doucouré made it easy for him to get in behind, with Seko Fofana releasing him. Kalimuendo crossed despite no one attacking the back post, yet Thomas Foket obliged, turning the ball into his own net.
Reims retook the lead soon after though. Dia picked up the ball in midfield and sprinted in behind Medina using a one-two with substitute striker El Bilal Touré, and his return ball to Touré deflected off of Medina into the net. Dia capped off his impressive performance with another goal that looked like sealing the game, shrugging off the challenge of Doucouré, dribbling right in between Badé and Medina, then rounding Leca to finish.
Lens finally found their crossing range though. In the 89th minute, they flooded the box with attackers and Clauss managed to find the head of Sotoca, then in added time Jean picked out Sotoca again with a beautiful cross.
It was an error-strewn and actually for the most part dull match despite its scoreline, with the goals coming in flurries between longer, slower chunks of the game. Both coaches will have plenty to work on in training, however Haise can probably be happy with his team’s attitude, as Lens continued to push on despite appearing to have lost, rescuing a point.
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