By their own admission, this victory against a combative Strasbourg team (2-1) on Friday evening will not be remembered at the end of the season. But the Lensois know it: accounting, these three points, snatched thanks to two goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski (11th) and Facundo Medina (65th), could count big at the end of the season. Temporarily, they bring them closer in any case to three units of the leader of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain, before his trip to Nice (Saturday, 21). An insignificant gap, which Northerners can now dream of filling.
Asked about Lens’ role in the title race, during the post-match conference, Franck Haise only half dodged the question. “Everyone manages their pressure, we manage ours, commented the artesian coach. Then everyone does what they have to do. There are eight matches left, so we’ll talk about that a little later. We don’t forbid ourselves anything, but we are just aware of the difficulty of winning a match, every time. We saw it against Angers (3-0), Rennes (1-0) and again in front of Strasbourg. »
A shock against Paris in the viewfinder
If Bollaert’s public has so many reasons to be optimistic, it’s because his competitors on the podium stick out their tongues: PSG (1st, 66 pts) remains on two losses in a row (0-2 against Rennes, then 0 -1 against Lyon), while Olympique de Marseille (3rd, 60 pts) has not won at home since January 14. A positive signal, while Lens has not yet faced either of its two rivals in the return matches, and a shock against the Parisians awaits it next Saturday.
Given the upcoming deadline, it’s hard to believe that the Sang et Or players won’t have their eyes glued to Nice-PSG on Saturday evening. “We can always dream but we know the difficulty it represents to win meetings, still wanted to put Franck Haise into perspective. I want us to play the last eight with courage, personality and of course also quality. Afterwards, if we have to get something… For the moment, we have what we deserve after 30 days, we must also deserve it after 38! »