2023-10-03 22:12:57
In an incandescent atmosphere in Bollaert, the Sang et Or signed one of the greatest exploits of a French club in C1 in recent years.
A gala evening that no one would have really believed in. Building on the momentum of its promising draw in Seville, RC Lens was more than up to the occasion, Tuesday October 3, to achieve a landmark victory once morest Arsenal (2-1) in the Champions League. Enough to amaze, and above all reward, a Bollaert stadium which has been waiting for 21 years to reconnect with the greatest European competition, and which will still remember these reunions in 21 more years.
Collector’s jersey in homage to that of 2002 – the year when the Lensois beat La Coruna, AC Milan and stood up to Bayern Munich for their last C1 campaign -, tifo XXL in the colors of Europe deployed in the stands. .. A particular scent floated above the Artesians’ lair. It must be said that the challenge was significant once morest the vice-champions of England, undefeated this season and clear winners of PSV Eindhoven in the opening (4-0).
Adrien Thomasson, from shadow to light
Franck Haise’s band, however, never gave the impression of being outdated. A face the opposite of their delicate start to the season where they even finished in last place in the championship. And yet, it was the Londoners, on a completely missed pass from Adrien Thomasson benefiting Bukayo Saka, who took the advantage through a lethal Gabriel Jesus.
The Lensois, established in place of the hero of Seville, Angelo Fulgini, might logically have collapsed following this gross error. But this fact of the game acted as a reminder of the demands of the Champions League level. After a complicated passage, the winger – for whom it was the first start in the competition – finally redeemed himself ten minutes later by sending a curling shot into the back of the net on a daring relay from Elye Wahi (1-1 , 25th).
“Mistakes are part of the game, there is no perfect match. What matters when we do it is to get going once more, to have this character. Adrien, like the whole team, had a lot of character This evening”underlined Franck Haise on beIN Sports following the match, aware of the performance accomplished by his men and the value of “the feat”. We have to go back to the 2018-2019 campaign to find traces of such prowess from a French club, excluding PSG, in the group stage, with Lyon’s victory once morest Manchester City (2-1).
Elye Wahi towards the stars
Wahi, a decisive passer, was not left out during this feat. While behind, Kevin Danso and Jonathan Gradit wonderfully supported Brice Samba, author of no less than six saves, the 20-year-old former Montpellier player largely contributed to writing one of the most beautiful pages in the history of the Artesian club. .
By scoring the winning goal on a lightning counter-attack (2-1, 69th), Elye Wahi justified his choice to join Lens, rather than another foreign team this summer, to hear the famous anthem. A nice way also to respond to his trainer, who considered Friday that he was “capable of doing much better” despite his first achievement with the RCL once morest Strasbourg. “I had a bit of a thrill, I’m very happy and I hope we’ll continue this momentum. It’s a great evening, I hope I can relive more, because it’s crazy”, reacted the 20-year-old Hope.
This is good, with this “squabble” in order, which has not finished being compared to that acquired at Wembley in 1998 once morest the same opponent, and the draw between PSV and Sevilla at the same time (2-2 ), Lens finds itself first in its group and can legitimately aim to qualify for the round of 16. Enough to already plan for future crazy evenings.
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