PLAYER RATINGS | Lens 0-0 Freiburg: Les Sang et Or fail to trouble patchwork Freiburg defence

RC Lens’s drop into the Europa League from the Champions League group stages did nothing to quieten the cauldron that is the Stade Bollaer-Delelis. A sold-out stadium full of noise and colour greeted Les Sang et Or as they hosted SC Freiburg, in the first leg of their play-off tie. 

Lens have yet to hit the heights and the intensity that they achieved last season when they chased Paris Saint-Germain’s eventual title until the final game of the season. The loss of Loïs Openda and Seko Fofana have been hard to stomach, but the squad have slowly begun to develop a coherency that has rediscovered some of that past brilliance. 

The visitors lined up with a makeshift defence as an injury crisis saw four centre-backs unavailable for the German side, which meant that Yannik Keitel was forced to play as a centre-back for the first time in his career. Lens looked to take advantage of the unfamiliarity within the backline with a fast start, that tried to pin Freiburg into their defensive third. 

Lens controlled possession and were aggressive without the ball, but after about a quarter of an hour of pressure, Freiburg began to grow into the game. Ritsu Dōan tested Brice Samba early in the half with a tame effort, but that sparked more involvement in the game from the right winger, and his link-up with Roland Sallai looked dangerous. Both players came close to opening the scoring but failed to hit the mark. 

The hosts began to struggle late into the half, their passes no longer seemed to find their teammate, and their efforts failed to threaten, with Lens unable to register a single of their ten shots on target. 

The halftime break provided no reprise for Lens as Freiburg carried on their pursuit for the opening goal. The visitors