Lens and Loïs Openda were full of confidence before the international break, with a big success on Saturday against Angers (3-0) during the 28th day of Ligue 1, a victory which allows the Blood and Gold to temporarily regain second place of the championship.
Six days after a great success in Clermont (4-0) thanks to a lightning hat-trick from Loïs Openda, the Belgian striker this time scored a double, his 13th and 14th goals of the season in Ligue 1. And justified his presence in the first list of the new Belgian coach, Domenico Tedesco, unveiled on Friday.
This second victory in a row allows Lens (57 pts) to find for the time being the place of dolphin of Paris SG left for a few days in Marseille (3rd, 56 pts).
The pressure is now on the shoulders of the Phocaeans, who travel Sunday evening (8:45 p.m.) to Reims, the team in form at the moment. And on those of Monaco (4th, 51 pts), which could lose in the event of poor performance, Sunday (1:00 p.m.) in Ajaccio, contact with the podium.
This success also allows Lens to put behind him the slack experienced recently, with only one victory in seven league games between the end of January and the beginning of March.
Conversely, Angers is sinking ever deeper into the crisis, with a 22nd defeat in 28 days, for 2 wins and 4 draws. With 10 points, 13 less than the first non-relegation player, the SCO is heading straight for Ligue 2.
The Angevins, however, seemed to have come to Bollaert with good intentions. They had control of the ball in the first minutes, but were unable to take advantage of it to endanger the very recent call-up to the France team, Lensois goalkeeper Brice Samba.
– Ticket offices closed –
After a tasteless start to the match, Lens unblocked the situation in a few minutes.
Perfectly launched by a long pass from Salis Abdul Samed, Seko Fofana opened the scoring with a cross shot that the Angevin goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni touched without deflecting it enough (26th).
Then, a few days after his second hat-trick in Ligue 1, Loïs Openda confirmed his return to form: after recovering the ball at the entrance to the area, he got rid of his defender with a hook before deceiving Bernardoni d a shot low to the ground (30th).
The Belgian offered himself a double a few seconds after returning from the locker room, overflowing the Angevin Ousmane Camara then fixing Bernardoni for the 3-0 (46th).
He could even have offered himself a new hat-trick without a parade from Bernardoni (62nd), who again avoided a wider score a few minutes later by stopping a shot from Seko Fofana (66th).
The end of the game was calmer, the Lensois preserving their score and the Angevins wasting their few chances to save the honor. The match ended to the sound of chants from the Bollaert crowd, which was sold out for the 21st time in a row.
The Lensois had swapped their flocking for the meeting, as part of a campaign against racism and anti-Semitism led with the Licra and the Professional Football League (LFP). Loïs Openda evolved with the name of Angelo Fulgini in the back, Seko Fofana with that of the substitute goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca.
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