Ligue 1: intensity, injuries, humility... RC Lens in full doubt before facing Toulouse

Fear drives out satisfaction. Four days after obtaining a (very) good point on the pitch of Sevilla FC (1-1), during the first day of the group stage of the Champions League, RC Lens receives this Sunday afternoon (15 hours), Toulouse FC with doubts in their heads. And not just because it occupies last place in the Ligue 1 standings.

Already, after having made so much effort, both offensively and defensively, to stand up to the Andalusian club this Wednesday evening, the Sang et Or do not yet know if they will be able to put the same intensity against the Téfécé, they who are not used to the sequence of matches with (very) high level meetings during the week. “Our game requires this intensity, which we did not have completely or not over the duration of a match until now. The game and the high level lead to having this requirement every time. The only real question is whether we will be able to do it again on Sunday,” explained Franck Haise this Friday, in a pre-match press conference. The Artesian coach is aware that “to win a match in Ligue 1”, his team has no other choice but to have this requirement. Especially since intensity is what has made its trademark, its strength, for three seasons.

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But with the repetition of matches, RC Lens is faced with another major problem: that of injuries. Little spared by physical problems (more or less serious) in recent months, the Sang et Or approach their meeting against the Violets with a lot of uncertainty. They could thus be (very) reduced. First, the versatile Massadio Haïdara, who could have claimed a starting place with the turnover, is already out for this weekend due to a thigh injury sustained in training.

And others could follow. Indeed, the twirling Elye Wahi, who is gradually finding his feet within his new formation, is (very) uncertain because, visibly, of small persistent muscular tensions. His absence would be a real blow for the Artesian club as he is capable, through his qualities of speed, percussion and finishing, of making the difference at any time, even if he has not yet shaken the nets with the artesian club. As for Deiver Machado, his presence against his former club is also uncertain “but to a lesser extent”. One thing is certain, Franck Haise does not intend to take “any risk if there is one, because a muscle injury can quickly extend to 3 weeks”.

Furthermore, RC Lens must rediscover the humility which was (partly) its strength. The Artesians did not become arrogant in a few weeks. Far from there. But it seems that after their second place acquired last season, they have (unconsciously) relaxed, even slightly, in the league since the start of the season. This is at least one of Franck Haise's assumptions to explain his team's poor performances: “If we lose a little humility, we lose a lot of things. It is clear that if this was the case, I think it is more of an unconscious nature, we cannot lose humility, lucidity, otherwise we are not capable of play the leading roles. If we have lost one, we must quickly find it, he told journalists. From what I saw in Seville, we had a lot of humility, which is logical when we haven't played in a European Cup, a Champions League, for a very long time. You have to know how to keep it all the time.”

Especially since Téfécé has qualities to spare even if its situation in the ranking - 13th with 6 points - is not great either. “It remains a very good team, which produces consistent results and which has just brought back a point from Union Saint-Gilloise in the European Cup, which is not easy either. “It’s a team that’s pretty comfortable away from home in 2023, that’s a lot of elements that show that it’s a team that has a lot of qualities,” explained the Lensois coach. The Blood and Gold have been warned. Will they be able to banish all their doubts?