RC Lens 0 Sporting CP 2
RC Lens v Sporting CP
Tuesday October 13th, 2026
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Champions League Matchday 2
Referee: Igor Pajac
The Warm up
From 2012/13 onwards PSG have dominated the top flight of French football. So much so that they’ve never finished out of the top two places and only twice have they failed to be crowned champions; 2020/21 won by Lille and in 2016/17 won by AS Monaco. So last season when Lens topped Ligue 1 for 9 matchdays that age old question reared it's ugly head - they couldn't could they? No, of course they couldn't. Yet they did finish runners up which guaranteed their place in this season's Champions League. PSG rallied from their defeat in Lisboa to win back to back Champions Leagues and added another Ligue 1 title just for good measure.
Lens won their one and only Ligue 1 title in 1997/98. The iPhone was still a decade away from being launched and apple's were still something you ate for a snack or put in pies. Football clubs weren't owned by petro chemical states and the Spice Girls were en route for world domination. They were different times indeed. If you wanted to express your annoyance at your teams performances you phoned into the local radio show, wrote a letter to the Editor of the paper or had to make do with moaning to your friends. No one knew what you had for breakfast, lunch or dinner, neither would they ever look at a photo of it and the internet still needed a modem and a phone line for access.
Racing Club de Lens to give them their full name, more commonly known simply as RCL, were founded 120 years ago. Their nickname is Les Sang et Or (The Blood and Gold) based on their traditional team colours. Home is the Stade Bollaert-Delelis which was opened in the June of 1933 and boasts a capacity of 38,223.
Lens have never been associated with being one of France’s largest footballing clubs but don't confuse their runners up story from last season as being a tale of a small team overcoming massive odds with an unsuccessful title bid. They're owned by Joseph Oughourlian who has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion. The collapse of the previous French TV rights deal when all Ligue 1 clubs were told to put €0 in their column for TV revenue may well have benefitted Lens with a billionaire owner but that's a hypothesis that may just as easily be shut down so don't quote me on that.
Oughourlian made his bid for Lens in May of 2016 against 2 further rival bids and his was given preferred status. At the time the clubs finances were described as delicate. Seems a very polite way of saying they were in dire need of financial investment and rescue but there we go, each to their own. Two months later Atlético de Madrid took a 34.6% stake in the club. By December of 2017 Oughourlian had become the sole shareholder when he bought out the minority stake held by the La Liga side.
In May of 2014 two years prior to his takeover Lens had sealed promotion back to Ligue 1. However French authorities, who really don't dick about when it comes to club finances, blocked the promotion owing to irregularities in their proposed budget. A €10m payment due from shareholder Hafiz Mammadov was missing. They appealed and won but on January 29th, 2015 it was announced they'd be relegated irrespective of where they finished.
Oughourlian’s purchase funded a promotion bid in 2016/17 which almost worked but they failed to secure a return to the top flight missing out on the very last day of the season. If expectations were raised for the next campaign then they were soon brought back down to earth with a bump as they began with the worst start in their clubs history which resulted in seven straight league defeats. They did recover sufficiently to avoid relegation.
The following season they finished fifth but lost in the play offs to Dijon, a side who I believe on their day are described as being proper mustard. I'm here all week, tip your waitress. Finally on April 20th, 2020 RCL of all things had COVID to be thankful for when French authorities abandoned the remainder of their league calendar and sat in second place they were promoted.
Just five years after losing all seven of their opening league games in Ligue 2, they went on to win all ten of their opening games in Ligue 1, quite the turnaround. Eventually they'd finish runners up to PSG by a single point. This brought about a European Cup / Champions League place for only the third time in their history; 1998/99 following their only league win as we'd previously mentioned and 2002/03.
A disappointing couple of seasons followed which resulted in them hiring Pierre Sage. He'd been without work for four months having been dismissed by Lyon. On June 2nd, 2025 he was announced on a three year deal. He led them to the Coupe de France final beating Nice 3-1 which was the first time in their history they'd won the French equivalent of the Taça de Portugal. This would mean they'd play in the French Supertaça against Ligue 1 winners PSG. However they wouldn't be led by Pierre Sage who had left for Premier League side Crystal Palace in June of this year. * His replacement is the German coach Dino Toppmöller who signed on a 2 year deal. Even without Sage they took the lead on 31’ through Florian Thauvin. Kylian Antonio saw red 7 minutes before half time. Despite being a man down against the reigning French and European champions they held on steadfast to their slender lead and were ultimately helped over the line when ironically it was one of our own former players who got sent off five minutes from time to make it a 10 v 10. That of course being the Portuguese youngster Nuno Mendes.
Oughourlian also has a shareholding in Italian side Calcio Padua and Millonarios in Colombia.
They were definitely a good bet in the league last season for a 1 or 2 (home or away win) drawing the fewest games of any side - 4. Won 22, lost 8, GF 66, GA 35. That bet a 100% banker at home. Played 17, won 14, drawn 3, lost 0. GF 35 GA 13. On the road they won 8, 4 draws and 5 defeats. GF 31 GA 22. Of their 66 goals scored 48 were from open play, 13 set pieces, 4 penalties and 1 own goal. Their xG slightly higher at 67.7. Top scorers Odsonne Édouard and Wesley Saïd with 12 apiece and only 1 goal behind Florian Thauvin with 11. The remainder shared between 14 players. Second highest average goals scored per game, second for fewest average goals conceded, second highest xG. They averaged 5.6 shots on target per game and like the lions missed the most big chances with 88 in total, 10 more than PSG. Twelve clean sheets in total.
Summer transfer window
Incoming
Franjo Ivanović - Benfica (Loan)
Yacine Titraoui - Sporting Charleroi £6.9m
Maik Nawrocki - Celtic £2.2m
Michal Skóras - Gent £5.2m
Thorgan Hazard - Free Agent
Michaël Cuisance - Hertha BSC £3m
Saud Abdulhamid - AS Roma £3m
Jean-Clair Todibo - West Ham (Loan)
Junior Kadile - Servette (Loan)
Outgoing
Gabin Capuano - Quevilly (Loan)
Mamadou Sangaré - Brentford £41m
Hervé Koffi - Union St-Gilloise (Loan)
Erawan Garnier - SC Bastia £86,000
Rémy Lascary - Auxerre (Loan)
Malang Sarr - Neon SC (Free)
Jeremy Agbonifo - Jagiellonia Bialystok (Loan)
Wesley Saïd to Al-Shamal (Free)
Mattia Foftin - Palermo (Loan)
Goduine Koyalipou - Kortjik (Loan)
Allan Saint-Maximin - Charlotte FC (Free)
Angelo Fulgini - Al Khaleej (Free)
Fodé Sylla - Sion £860,000
Anthony Bermont - Angers (Loan)
Kembo Diliwidi - FCB Dender EH £172,000
Facundo Medina - Marseille £15m
Yannick Pandor - Amiens £258,000
Adrien Thomasson - Rennes (Free)
Anass Zaroury - Panathinaikos (Free)
Rayan Fofana - Le Harve (Loan)
Their biggest loss will be the incredibly highly rated Sangaré who by all accounts bossed the Brentford midfield in their opening 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur. Losing Saïd and his 11 goals won't help their cause either and neither will the loss of Medina to fellow Ligue 1 side Marseille.
Sporting will of course be hoping to build on their decent recent record against French clubs which has seen them best PSG, Marseille and Lille in the Champions League and the 7-0 pre-season thumping of RC Strasbourg. They'll earmark this as one of their more winnable games of the 8 but then again so will Lens.
If RCL are reeling from the loss of their mister and some of their best players then they've disguised it well in their opening fixtures. Not content with beating PSG to lift the Supertaça in the curtain raiser, they put five goals past Auxerre at home on Matchday 1 for a winning start to their new league campaign. A lively encounter saw 7 goals, 3 penalties and a red card. Thauvin opened the scoring on 11 minutes from the penalty spot. Christ Makosso saw a straight red on 34 minutes for Auxerre. That might also have been what the Auxerre mister said aloud when he was sent off. Give it a moment... Benfica loanee Ivanovic made it 2-0 on 48’ and fellow new signing Abdulhamid made it 3-0 on 53’. Namaso pulled one back from the penalty spot on the hour. Gabiou made it 4-1 five minutes later and Sy made it 4-2 just 3 minutes after that. Five goals shared in the space of just 20 second half minutes. Thauvin converted a second penalty 3 minutes from time. xG 4.41 to 1.84. Lens with 9 attempts from 12 on target which feels incredibly impressive and yet their xG is inflated by the two penalties but nonetheless an xG of 4.41 against 12 total attempts is highly impressive. PSG are yet to win either of their opening league games and needed two goals in additional time to draw 2-2 away from home on the same night Sporting were putting 4 past Rio Ave away.
Can Lens challenge again domestically? Time will tell. The question will be how big of a distraction will the Champions League be? Sporting can testify that for a smaller club trying to compete on more than one front, the further you go in Europe, the harder it becomes to maintain your efforts in the league. Titles are won and lost on the finest of margins.
Matchday 2 - RC Strasbourg (A) 2-1 L
We got to see Hugo Oliveira's side up close and personal pre-season when they were thumped by the lions 7-0 in the Algarve. They lost their opening game 4-0 to OM and fell behind in this one to a Thauvin penalty on 37 minutes at the Stade de la Meinau. However they rallied in the second half with goals from Yassine on 47' and 84' to claim their first win of the season. Lens definately left to rue a host of big chances missed though the stats suggest this could well have ended up a tennis score.
xG 1.83 - 2.91
Total Attempts 16 - 17
Shots on target 7 - 7
Big Chances 4 - 5
Big Chances Missed 3 - 4
4th September - Maik Nawrocki who signed from Celtic in the summer has suffered an ACL injury and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
Matchday 3 - Lorient (H) 0-1 L
A second straight loss for the lions future Champions League opponents. The 19 year old Ivorian Mamadou Koné scored the only goal of the game 8 minutes into the second half. Lens centre back Souleymane Sagnan picked up his second booking of the match a minute after the 90 to compound their misery as they finished with 10.
xG 1.01 - 1.51
Total Attempts 17 - 8
Shots on target 6 - 3
Big Chances 1 - 1
Big Chances Missed 1 - 0
Champions League Matchday 1 - Slavia Praha (A) 2-3 W
The Ligue 1 side could have been behind with just 23 seconds on the clock but breathed a sigh of relief when Danijel Šturm failed to even get his shot on target from the corner of the six yard box on the far side. 31' Corner near side to the visitors resulted in a header by Udol from 8 yards well stopped at the far post by Markovič. Five minutes before half time Thauvin saw his 20 yard deflected effort well saved again by Markovič.
Half time substitute 20 year old Mikulás Konečný lasted all of 3 minutes before a VAR check saw him receive a straight red card for a foul outside the area on Sima. Usually a side in Europe would shut up shop with ten men but the Czech's hadn't read that script and took the lead just 2 minutes later. Šturm turned his marker inside the box, continued his run to just outside the area before smashing home a shot into the left of the net which left Risser flat footed and only able to watch. 54' Thauvin saw his header from 7 yards cleared a yard from the goal line. 63' Édouard was unmarked when he met a cross from the left 7 yards out and aimed his header straight at the keeper. The equaliser finally came on 72' from Sima who eventually poked it home from 7 yards against his old club. It wasn't pretty, but they all count. Šturm looked to have scored the winner on 87' as he fired into the same corner as his opener. This time the shot was more central coming inside the D but the same distance, just half a yard outside the 18. 47 seconds past the 90 Thauvin headed home from 7 yards to make it 2-2. The assist from the 17 year old Mezian Soares. Heartbreak for the home side as 2 minutes past the 90 a misplaced pass fell straight to Aguilar 27 yards out. He didn't need inviting twice and ran to the edge of the box and absolutely leathered the ball into the bottom left hand corner to break Czech hearts.
xG 2.12 - 1.77
Total Attempts 18 - 26
Shots on target 5 - 8
Big Chances 3 - 4
Big Chances missed 3 - 2
Matchday 4 - Le Mans (A) 2-2
Still no clean sheet from Racing's opening five games as they came back from 2-0 down. Bourabaa opened the scoring on 31' and Calodat put the home side 2-0 two minutes before half time. Sima did however make it 2-1 at half time scoring a minute past the 45. Franjo Ivanović, on loan from the neighbours equalised 4 minutes into the second half. VAR overturned a penalty award for Lens on 78'. The draw means they've not won since the opening day in Ligue 1.
xG 2.49 - 1.24
Total Attempts 12 - 16
Shots on target 4 - 6
Big Chances 4 - 4
Big Chances Missed 2 - 2
Matchday 5 - AS Monaco (A) 2-1 L
I learned yesterday that I have a condition called time blindness which may explain why the lions pre-season game against Monaco already feels like a decade ago even though it was only two months ago. They've certainly kicked into gear since as they top Ligue 1 after winning Friday nights game against the lions second Champions League opponents Lens. Paris Brunner put the home side ahead after 31 minutes. Matthieu Udol made it 1-1 on 56' and Racing looked all set for a point before a Jonathan Gradit own goal seven minutes from time sealed their fate. Just 1 win in the opening 5 Ligue 1 games for Racing who face Lyon next after the international break.
xG 1.41 - 1.04
Total Attempts 9 - 12
Shots on target 6 - 4
Big Chances 3 - 2
Big Chances Missed 2 - 1
* Not for the first time this season I've gone early with my match preview only for the lions opponents get rid of their head coach. I can now add Dino Toppmöller to the list alongside former Sporting B coach João Gião who was given the shove by CD Nacional days before they played at the José Alvalade. Topmöller was given the push before Friday's loss against league leaders AS Monaco. There was alleged friction between the players and his assistant Nelson Morgado to such an extent that the club's board wanted rid. Topmöller I believe refused to accept the decision and so they were both shown the door.
Yannick Cahuzac was set to be handed the role on an interim basis but has actually been made the permanent choice with accusations being levelled at his relationship with the Lens Sporting Director Jean-Louis Leca. If Toppmöller and Morgado have a close relationship that's nothing in comparison to Cahuzac and Leca. Both men hail from Corsica, played together at Bastia and maybe crucially, they were best man when each man married. Nothing to see here people's, move along.
Matchday 6 - Lyon (H) 2-1 W
Florian Sotoca scored his first of the season to get Racing off the mark in the 35th minute assisted by Florain Thauvin. Team full of Florian's, you're just a team full of...Sorry, my bad. Mathieu Udol headed the home side into a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining, Thauvin with a brace of assists. Udol was given a straight red on 83' and Khalis Merah cut the deficit moments later to make it 2-1 with six minutes remaining however Lens held on for all 3 points.
xG 1.37 - 0.99
Total attempts 15 - 13
Shots on target 7 - 5
Big chances 2 - 1
Big chances missed 1 - 1
In the markets
RC Lens 27/20
Draw 11/4
Sporting CP 17/10
Team News
Starting XI
Pereira, Araújo, Inácio, Quaresma, Fresneda, Altimira, Doumbia, Simões, Geny, Suárez and Irankunda
Substitutes
Silva, Vagiannidis, Ba, Zekri, Felicíssimo, Lima, Andersen, Gonçalves, Ioannidis, Derry, Guilherme and Nel
Despite not playing since his sending off Zeno Debast continues his impression of Jeremiah St Juste and is injured again and didn't travel to France. Neither did Rodrigo Zalazar who was withdrawn injured after his cameo appearance against Braga. Big call in goal as Pereira makes his debut in place of Rui Silva. Araujo returns for Vagiannidis at left back. In the centre Simões is preferred to Andersen. Up front top scorer Luis Suárez returns in place of Ioannidis. Zekri makes his first Matchday squad since his summer move.
Lens Starting XI
40 Risser
32 Antonio
6 Baidoo
25 Ganiou
14 Udol
21 Haidara
27 Cuisance
23 Abdulhamid
28 Kadile
10 Thauvin
29 Ivanović
Gradit misses out having been withdrawn injured in the win over Lyon. Baidoo takes his place. Udol will serve his suspension in Ligue 1 and retains his place. Sotoca and Édouard replaced by Abdulhamid and the on loan Benfica forward Ivanović. Aguilar and Titraoui replaced by Haidara and Kadile.
Substitutes
16 Gorgelin
20 Todibo
4 Celic
31 Sagnan
5 Bulatović
7 Sotoca
38 Soares
22 Skóras
2 Aguilar
9 Hazard
8 Titraoui
11 Édouard
First Half
Most sides have a cup goalkeeper. That doesn't usually equate to the Champions League though it's fair to say. A lot of fans will say it's been a long time coming given Rui Silva's indifferent form over the last few months. Nothing like throwing someone in at the deep end and seeing if they can swim. We'll see at the end of the 90 minutes. I messaged a friend before I knew the team news to say this could be a 4-3, 5-4 or a 6-5 because I'm not convinced either side can defend. Now Pereira is making his debut I hope I'm very wrong for his sake. This will be a fixture both coaches have earmarked as a possible win. The lions went behind against Gala, Lens conceded twice in their opening fixture. A draw wouldn't be the worst result but we've the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona still to play in later rounds so three points would be hugely beneficial for our chances of the play offs. I don't expect us to finish top eight again, that was an anomaly last season.
The lions in their traditional green and white horizontal stripes. The home fans have gone to town with their displays in the stands. This the first time the two sides have ever met. Thauvin the danger man for me. Keep him quiet and we'll stand a chance. Fervent atmosphere from the home fans. Let's hope Suárez can make it eight straight games in which he's scored to silence them. Lens have never won their first two games of a Champions League campaign. Lens get us underway, the lions attack left to right in the opening 45.
1 It could just be the camera angle but the pitch looks massive
3 Udol with the first chance of the match only succeeds in volleying the ball into the ground from 18 yards and up into the air
5 Thauvin with an attempt from 25 yards. Bounced once before reaching Pereira who didn't make the best stop it's fair to say but he gets away with it nonetheless
7 Suárez penalised for a foul on the left wing. Free kick 27 yards from the goal line. Thauvin stood over the ball. Lions clear their lines
8 Fresneda concedes a free kick for a needless foul on Udol on the left touchline. Thauvins free kick cleared as far as Abdulhamid whose shot from 25 yards blocked and back out the left wing. Dangerous ball across the six yard box out to safety
12 Kadile blasts over from 12 yards into the stand behind Pereira. That's their seventh attempt already, just the one on target
14 Lens man down in the box nothing given. Fell under pressure from Quaresma. Kadile the man who went down. Zero contact which begs the question with how he went down throwing himself forward, why he wasn't booked for simulation?
14 Suárez with a run into the box but tries to beat one man too many and loses possession
16 Finally the lions maintain possession for more than ten seconds. Lens have been relentless in the opening quarter of an hour. They won't keep it up for 90 minutes
17 In over a minute of possession the lions still haven't gotten over the half way line
19 Ivanović with a shove in the back of Altimira penalised in the centre of the park. Inácio overcooks a pass to Geny out of play
20 Having weathered the opening storm Sporting finally with a foothold in the game even if they're doing little other than maintaining possession
21 GOAL Lens 0 Sporting CP 1. Big ‘Wooooooo' from Luis Suárez picked up on the microphone in celebration. Irankunda with a pass flat from the left wing found Suárez who first time puts it away from 7 yards
23 Kadile launches himself a cross from the left inside the Sporting box. Thankfully the ball carries on past him
24 Doumbia almost gets Irankunda away on the left but Risser out to smother the ball
25 Well read by Inácio to clear the danger in the centre
26 Cuisance shot blocked from inside the D
27 Cuisance again with a blocked shot. He appeals for a penalty. It strikes the thigh of Altimira. The fucking thigh!
27 Altimira concedes a corner far side
29 Break in play as Suárez receives treatment.
30 Back underway and the lions temporarily down to ten men
31 Udol mistake lets Geny away at the back but like Fresneda on Friday against Braga he corrects his mistake
31 Suárez one on one smashes his shot from the edge of the D. Big flying save from Risser and out for a corner far side. That really should have been 2-0. Lens were cut wide open with a long ball over the top.
33 POST Ivanović let fly from 20 yards, cannons back off the right hand post.
33 Thauvin fires straight at Pereira from 16 yards
35 Good save from Haidara’s effort from 18 yards centrally
39 Chaos at the back for Lens. Irankunda free inside the box overcooked his pass to Suárez. The Colombian had to stretch back to collect the pass. He found Geny whose effort was blocked. Simões shot then deflected for a corner far side
43 Sporting open the Racing defence again. Geny played in Irankunda on the right who flashed his shot wide of the far post
Plus two shown
Half time
Lens 0 Sporting CP 1
The lions weathered the early storm. They've clearly come with a game plan to soak up possession and hit Lens on the break. I started off suggesting that that neither side can really defend based on eyes on with the lions this season and statistics from Lens games. Well I've had eyes on Lens now and I'll stick with that statement. Sporting really should have been two goals to the good when Suárez was one on one. Didn't really surprise me given his tally of misses last season that he went early but credit to Risser all the same for coming up with a big save. The lions need to make one of these opportunities stick in the second half. Lens will continue to throw men forward no doubt and leave themselves vulnerable to the counter attack.
xG 1.23 to 0.56
Total attempts 12 - 5
Shots on target 3 - 2
Big chances 1 - 2
Big chances missed 1 - 1
Second Half
Sporting get us back underway
46 Risser clears as Suárez chased down the ball in the final third. Better pass there and Lens were in real trouble again
47 Suárez pass to the near post cleared for a corner
49 Geny shot blocked from 12 yards. Wouldn't have counted flag went up for offside against Araújo who picked him out with a pass
50 Sporting have come out a totally different side to the opening half. It's been pretty much all the lions so far in the opening five minutes. Lens defence is not at all convincing. Still Sporting need to take one of these chances
51 Thauvin leaves Araújo standing. Thankfully his pass had far too much on it for Udol to control
52 Corner nearside to Lens
52 Altimira telling a Lens player to get up who's down in the D. Play continued with nothing given
53 Sporting again with acres of space to run into. Doumbia slipped at the crucial moment. How we miss Gyökeres he'd have had a hard on with that much space to run into
54 Irankunda finds Araújo who whipped in a shot from 12 yards punched clear by Risser
55 Thauvin looking for Udol again. Fresneda held him off and Pereira collected. Not sure that he shouldn't have just come out and collect that pass
56 Doumbia with a cheeky little flick over the head of a defender
56 ➡️⬅️ Baidoo and Ivanović off. Aguilar and Édouard on
58 Araújo leaves his hip in on Abdulhamid who certainly learned who the stronger man was as he crumples in a heap
59 Haidara with a wonderful effort from 20 yards plucked to safety as it headed for the top right hand corner. Incredible save from the debutant and out for a corner near side
60 Simões brings a save from 17 yards. Risser was off balance and somehow stopped it with his leg. Not at all convincing
60 Absolutely incredible feet from Irankunda inside the Lens box to bamboozle the defenders but too many red and yellow shirts in the way. He shifted the ball from one foot to another like a magician
61 Édouard through the legs of Quaresma from 9 yards. Couldn't get the power behind it. Saved by Pereira
63 Irankunda turns his marker and looks like his career died on the floor. Cuisance just left in a heep
64 Fresneda takes no chances and turns a pass from the right out for a corner far side
64 Fresneda again opts to concede the corner again far side. Haidara header goes wide
65 ➡️ ⬅️ Guilherme for Geny
65 Lens about to bring a baby faced 16 year old on and when I say baby faced I mean baby faced. Christ I feel old
66 Brilliant from Simões who dances his way 30 yards down the pitch through a sea of Lens players. He celebrated like he's scored a goal at the end of the run which finishes with a throw
67 ➡️⬅️ Kadile and Abdulhamid off. Skóras and Soares on. The latter being the baby faced for avoidance of doubt
69 Udol header from 8 yards goes well wide
70 Booking for a shirt pull on Guilherme right under the referee's nose. Cuisance the man booked
71 Andersen set to come on. They need to take a chance and make it 2-0. We know the script if they sit back
72 Incredible ball from Araújo to find Doumbia but he puts it wide from 5 yards
72 ➡️⬅️ Irankunda and Simões for Derry and Andersen
73 GOAL Lens 0 Sporting CP 2. Finally Doumbia gets his goal after two disallowed for offside this season. Derry started the move dancing between two players. His pass found Silas. His pass in turn found Doumbia who flicked it with the outside of his boot last Risser from 20 yards and rushes off to the Sporting fans
76 Hush descends over the ground for a few seconds as if the home fans are sucking in the air to muster another round of chants
77 Fresneda ball from the goal line deflected off Antonio and back towards goal but out to safety
78 Soares rather comically causes Derry to slip but thankfully the ball ended up with a goal kick
79 ➡️ ⬅️ Haidara for Titraoui. I believe that's what the French call breasts having an argument in a bra
80 Thauvin booked for an incident on the far side. Doumbia is on the floor. Replay shows an initial foul was given with Doumbia on the floor. Thauvin whacked the ball in anger but the Italians foot was in the way and took the brunt
82 Thauvin let's fly from 25 yards but wide of the right hand post
83 The lions seven minutes and change away from a fifth straight win against French opposition. Keep your focus gentlemen
84 Soares tries to engineer something for Lens but his pass goes to a Sporting player who were off on the counter
84 ➡️ ⬅️ Doumbia and Suárez off for Ioannidis and Lima
85 I think that's the first time I can definitely say I've heard a Sporting chant as the name of Luis Suárez is sung
86 The lions apparently set to become not the third ever side to win here in Europe and no side has ever kept a clean sheet
87 Quaresma plays the ball off a Lens player for a goal kick. Celebrates it like a goal
87 Wonderful ball from Fresneda looking for Andersen in the centre. Maybe an inch too high and the Dane ends up taking it away from Derry behind him
88 Corner far side off Quaresma
89 Danger cleared. Thauvin flagged offside. Sporting in no hurry to take the free kick
Plus three shown
90 Andersen battling away in the centre came away with the ball. Sporting not giving an inch
+1 Ganiou let's fly from 35 yards. Pereira gets his body behind the ball
Full time
Lens 0 Sporting CP 2
The final word
Brilliant display from Rui Borges men who'll come away feeling they should have scored more and in truth they should have done. That's the lions fifth straight win against Ligue 1 opposition. They become the first side ever to keep a clean sheet away to Lens and only the third to ever score against them at home. A massive two finger salute from Rui Borges to his doubters who were calling for his head just two matches ago. Same for Luis Suárez who scores in his eighth straight game for the lions and yet some fans were saying that Rafael Nel should be starting. Opinions as they say are like arseholes, everyone has got one. I forget whether that gives Borges the most ever Champions League wins or draws him level. It'll come out in the wash I'm sure. Only the second time the lions have opened their UCL campaign with back to back wins.
I felt before the game started that this game could be any score. Both sides certainly had enough chances, the difference being that the lions took their's. If Lens play that naively against a bigger side and allow that type of space they will get their arses well and truly handed to them. They should have done tonight in fairness. Still points for the Portuguese coefficient, €2 in the club coffers for the win. This new young side needs encouragement, nurturing and time to grow. A win like that will go a long way.
Credit to the home fans who maybe stopped singing for all of 4 seconds across 90 minutes. They truly were fantastic and a great advert for Ligue 1. If you're a groundhopper and go international I suspect that one should really be close to the top of your bucketlist to tick off if tonight was anything to go by. Tonights attendance given as 41,233 which seems incredibly impressive given the capacity is recorded as 3,000 fans fewer. Don't trust the internet. At one stage it showed I think 8 players for Lens in the U19s had been booked in the first half or maybe it was even 9. Maybe they were but it seems highly unlikely.
Final xG 1.72 to 1.67. Sporting this season under Borges as I've written before going for the approach of quality over quantity of chances. Total attempts 21 to 11. 6 shots on target for Lens to the lions 5, however only 1 big chance to the lions 3, both sides guilty of missing 1 big chance. Pereira will be satisified with his 6 saves made. Goalkeepers are never pleased are they lets be fair. The question will be will he still be inbetween the posts when Sporting face Lask next time out? We'll have to wait and see.
A bit like Friday night you could certainly tell what this result meant to the players even whilst the game was ongoing. The celebrations from Simões second half after his fine run in midfield, the same from Quaresma inside the Sporting box as the danger passed. The feeling I got was that the majority left for the international break with a real intent to put things right after throwing away six points in the opening rounds. It is still very much a work in progress but at the age of 48 I am old enough and ugly enough to know that's how football works. Real life football isn't played with a controller or a keyboard. You're signings take time to actually bed. Mistakes happen because funnily enough mistakes happen in all areas of life. Blimey Galatasaray leading against Barcelona. Sorry easily distracted.
A large section of the fan base refuse to give Borges any credit which is frankly fucking ridiculous and more than a few could do with getting off their high horse before they do themselves some serious mischief with another huge fall. When you've equalled or beaten the most Champions League wins (I'll confirm it at some point) and you've only ever suffered two league defeats since December 2024 you do a really good impression in my opinon of someone that does actually know what they're doing. The players might not always pull off what you want them to do but no teams players do. We're all fallible whether we write crap like this every game or are paid a fortune to kick a ball. Certain sections of the fanbase would enjoy games so much more if they changed their expectation levels. Yes I know I am a broken record but maybe I have a point if I do say so myself.
Okay so enough of the bluster. The lions came with a clearly defined game plan, they must have had an inkling that Lens would come out of the blocks fast and so it proved. They soaked up the pressure for fifteen minutes and finally found their feet and took their opening goal with their first chance. Clinical when it mattered the most. That they came out with their tails up second half was telling. It was a complete role reversal. Lens were guilty of leaving so much space at the back you could have sailed several yachts behind their defence. The only real gripe agaisnt Rui Borges men is that they didn't take more advantage of it. Lens naïve, or maybe too brave, or too over confident? You take your pick.
Giving a debut to your backup goalkeeper felt a massive call to make before kick off. These things can easily back fire. You can forgive him for being nervous at times. I think we all would be in the same situation. It's a huge step up from playing for Nacional and Farense to the Champions League. That might be my understatement of the season to date. I thought the back four did a marvellous job especially considering some of the pressure applied by Lens at stages during the game, expertly screened in tandem by Simões and Altimira for the bulk of the game. Andersen did really well when he came on tonight and looked far more impressive that he did on Friday night. What a difference three days makes post international break. They looked far more cohesive than they did at any stage in the 3-1 win over Braga.
Tough night for Geny out on the right wing in fairness but once again we saw some flashes of just how good the Australian youngster Irankunda is on the left flank. There was one piece of skill in the second half where he shifts the ball, I think from his right onto his left and back again to open up the space for himself that was so fast you'd have hated to have to defend against him. I was gutted to see Allison go to Napoli but the more minutes this kid gets under his belt the less painful a decision it feels. Shout out to Derry in turn who started the move for the second goal and again he danced inbetween two Lens players. Hopefully that will give him a massive shot in the arm for his confidence levels.
Half time in the evening games and Viking are 2-0 up at home to Bayern. Glad it's not just us last season who struggled out in Norway.
Anyway back to France. Let's go with four votes for man of the match. I'm going to go Simões vote one. He must have been out for six months in total with injury, first full start and what a spirited performance from the youngster. He's seen a raft of midfielders signed over the summer and must have feared the worst at times but he's run himself into the ground tonight with a battling display. I have a real affection for this kid and I hope he's part of our midfield for years to come. Vote two goes to Irankunda out wide on the left. He was a gigantic pain in the arse for their defenders, puts the opening goal on a plate for Suárez to slot home. Nowhere near the finished article but another left winger at Sporting where you're left thinking enjoy watching him while you can because he's not going to be here for a long time. Vote three goes to Altimira. I wrote Friday night after the win it's not you it's me because despite his numbers every game he seems to pass me by but I am paying more and more attention to the Spaniard I can promise you that. Again Mr consistency and whether that's in the league or on the biggest stage of all he provides a platform to build on, protection for the defence and sets the standards for those around him to adhere to. Vote four - I'm always loathe to vote for goalkeepers as regular readers will be aware unless I feel they deserve it so Pereira is there on merit. Got past his nerves, was yes fortunate to see the Ivanović effort come back off the post and out to safety but his save from Haidara really was top drawer.
But credit to players all over the park. Quaresma and Inácio were solid in defence in the centre ably assisted either side by Maxi and Fresneda. All of them remained calm under pressure. The two goalscorers in turn deserve praise, Derry and Andersen from the bench. I think to be fair only Guilherme and Geny maybe underperformed on the night and when you've got those levels from everyone else then you're always in with a fighting chance.
Final vote for my man of the match goes to Simões. I don't always look for the overall quality in my awards, a bit like Suárez on Friday night is was as much for his commitment, his attitude and what he gave to the side.
So a weekend off which feels like a blessing. Back to Lisboa to welcome Lask. That's definately not a given as I have learned twice the hard way in the past with the Austrians.
Post game update - Rui Borge equalled Ruben Amorim's record of Champions League wins. Oh and after the awful shirt on Friday night I've seen a photo post game tonight and he was back in a plain blue jumper. Much better look for the mister. I imagine Mrs Borges would agree with me too.
