For many French clubs, European football proves to be a hindrance rather than a help. Lacking in depth, clubs have failed to fight on both fronts and as European form falters, domestic form often follows. The opposite is true of RC Lens this season.
Prior to their Champions League opener against Sevilla, Lens were in the wilderness. Franck Haise’s side had failed to win any of their first five Ligue 1 matches and had already lost on four occasions, the same amount as they lost in the entire 2022/23 season, where they finished just one point behind eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain. A repeat of that feat certainly didn’t look on the cards with Les Sang et Or trapped in the relegation zone.
Lens notably looked to be suffering from the absence of the talismanic figure of Seko Fofana, a crucial element of the side’s midfield, but also the dressing room, whilst their top scorer, Loïs Openda, also made a move away from the Stade Bollaert. “I don’t think we’ve completely turned the page on last season,” said Haise in the run-up to the match against AS Monaco. “We’ve stayed with what went well in 2022/23 and things catch up with you. We need to turn the page. There is a lot of work to do that hasn’t been completely done.”
Haise struck an even more worrying tone after the club’s defeat to Monaco. “We have to be worried. I can’t say that I’m not worried, that wouldn’t be lucid,” said the Frenchman. Things would get worse before they got better, with a shock defeat at home to newly-promoted FC Metz preceding Lens’ first trip of the Champions League campaign.
Lens’ demise on the pitch can at least partially be attributed to what went on off of it. Grégory Thil, in his one and perhaps only transfer window as Lens technical
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