Recap: Lens Win in Will Still’s Return to Stade Auguste-Delaun

Will Still returned to Stade Auguste-Delaune to face his former club, Stade de Reims and RC Lens came away with a 2-0 victory, giving their manager a win over the team he coached from 2022 to 2024.

It was a tightly contested first half, with Reims recording eight total shots while Lens counted with six, but it was the visitors who recorded the opening goal as Adrien Thomasson scored in the 23rd minute.

The contest went into halftime with Lens holding a 1-0 lead and it was Reims again who recorded the most shots in a half as the home side had eight total shots while the away squad registered five.

Despite Reims' efforts, it was Still and his team that scored again as M'Bala Nzola scored in the 61st minute to give Lens the insurance goal for a 2-0 result.

Lens held onto this lead to secure all three points away from home and with 20 points, they're currently in the UEFA Europa Conference League spot heading into this weekend's action.

After the match, Reims midfielder Teddy Teuma spoke with DAZN and expressed his frustration with the result.

"Yeah, there's a lot of frustration because, aside from the poor performance, I really felt like we lacked character today. We knew going into the match that the team with the most desire to win would come out on top. I think Lens showed a lot more character than us, and they dominated us, so they fully deserve their victory tonight."

"It was tough. We knew what to expect, but I think we lacked rhythm and the desire to win. It was all about one-on-ones, and when you don’t win your duels against a team that presses high, it’s easy to get suffocated. And like I said, even though our performance wasn't up to par, what really bothers me is the mentality.

"I felt like we just accepted losing, and even when it was 2-0 near the end and the match was practically over, we gave up. We should never stop fighting and always have that mentality to win at all costs. But I didn’t feel that winning mentality from the team, and that’s what bothers me the most."

Reims will attempt to bounce back on December 8 when they face RC Strasbourg at Stade de la Meinau. As for Lens, they'll also be playing on December 8, when Montpellier visit Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

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