Lens gave a football lesson and took a big step towards the Champions League by largely dominating Monaco (3-0), a direct opponent, on Saturday April 22 during the 32nd day of Ligue 1.

With 63% possession and 21 shots, Lens evacuated his frustration born on the lawn of the Parc des Princes last Saturday (3-1 defeat). For its part, Monaco suffered a setback after four matches without defeat (3 wins, one draw). Since returning to Ligue 1 in 2020, Lens has been undefeated in the league against the Principality club (4 wins, 2 draws). The Sang et Or had already largely won 4-1 in the first leg, on August 20 at Louis-II.

This success allows Lens (2nd, 66 points) to distance itself from Monaco (4th, 61 points) and to temporarily overtake Marseille (3rd, 64 points), which travels to Lyon on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) at the end of this 32nd day. Visibly determined to take the lead from the outset, the Sang et Or printed a very high pressure from the first minutes, pushing the Monegasques to rush certain gestures.

Lensoise domination

A strategy rewarded from the 9th minute. Loïs Openda put pressure on Monaco goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, forcing the latter into an unsteady pass to Vanderson. Intercepted by Machado, the ball returned to Loïs Openda, who saw her first attempt diverted by Nübel then saved on her line by a defender. But the same Openda found himself on the fallout of the ball, which he pushed into the back of the net.

The Belgian striker was initially flagged offside, but the goal was validated after using video assistance. The Lensoise domination was confirmed in the following minutes, marked by a strike from Florian Sotoca just above the bar (12th) then a shot from Seko Fofana in the gloves of Nübel (16th).

Abused, the Monegasque defense folded a second time in the 16th minute. After a one-two played with Adrien Thomasson, Deiver Machado sent a millimeter cross to 6 meters for Loïs Openda who, with a powerful strike, scored twice with the help of the bar.

Smoke and fireworks

While Lens continued to dominate the proceedings, the meeting was marked by smoke bombs and the firing of fireworks from the half hour mark, which prompted the referee to briefly interrupt the match. These overflows come at a bad time, when the Artesian players will need a full stadium for their next home match, May 6 against Marseille.

This interruption cut the rhythm of the match and temporarily rebalanced the debates, allowing Monaco to go more in attack, without really threatening Brice Samba. The main chance at the end of the first half was again the work of Lens. After going up half the field with the ball at his feet, Seko Fofana saw his shot from the entrance to the surface hit the crossbar (44th).

Lens tripled the bet and definitively killed all suspense a few minutes after returning from the locker room (56th). Served on the right of the surface, Loïs Openda took the ball to 6 meters before serving back Adrien Thomasson, who scored with a cross shot a few minutes after being denied a goal for a position offside.

At the end of the match, Brice Samba intervened against Ben Yedder on one of the rare Monegasque chances (72nd), then Kevin Danso countered a powerful strike from Takumi Minamino (83rd) to complete the Lensois success.