Recap: Injury-time Nzola goal sees Lens snatch draw at Rennes
Match Reports
Lens and Rennes were barely separated in the Ligue 1 table before kick-off, with both sides sat in fourth and fifth respectively. Les Rennais were hoping to build off some positive home form of late, after they beat Montpellier (3-0) last weekend, whilst Lens hoped to get back to winning ways after consecutive draws. Following an even opening 20 minutes, Rennes began to take control of the game, and would logically take the lead via Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Abdukodir Khusanov gave away a clear foul in the box after Santamaria nipped in front of him to try and steal the ball, and referee Jeremy Stinat pointed to the spot for a penalty. Former Lens striker Arnaud Kalimuendo stepped up to take the spot kick and sent Brice Samba the wrong way with a decisive penalty to open the scoring for the Breton side (24'). It was an error which led to the Rennes goal, and it was a pattern that would start to plague Will Still's side in the first half, as they started to lack some fluency and give the ball away regularly.
With Lens behind at the break, Will Still would quickly have to roll the dice with some changes as the second half got underway, with Wesley Saïd replacing Adrien Thomasson, and Labreau Lascary being replaced by M'Bala Nzola. Nigeria's Hamzat Ojediran also replaced Florian Sotoca to start the second half.
The late, late show at Roazhon Park
Hataboer would provide a dangerous cross from the right to left, but Ludovic Blas and Adrien Truffert got in each other's way, as the Breton fullback's header calmly fell into the gloves of Brice Samba. A strike from range from Gradit would be the culmination of Lens pressure in the second half, and Rennes responded as Albert Grønbæk's strike just past Samba's left post. Angelo Fulgini came on for the Sang & Or and almost made an instant impact as he provided a dangerous ball for Wesley Saïd to head just wide of the post.
As the game went into injury time, it looked as if Lens and Will Still would get their first taste of defeat in Ligue 1 this season. But in the last minute of injury time, the visitors would unbelievably find an equaliser after M'Bala Nzola profited off a goalkeeping mistake from Steve Mandanda to poke the ball into an empty net. Referee Jeremy Sinat went to VAR and after a lengthy period, decided that Wesley Saïd did not impede the Rennes goalkeeper (90+6'). Two points certainly dropped for Julien Stéphan's side, as Nzola's goal kept his side's unbeaten run in Ligue 1 intact after five matches following some unbelievable last-minute drama.
Reactions:
Rennes manager Julien Stéphan: "It's annoying because we missed our first ten minutes and our last seven or eight. As for the rest, I think we dominated the Lens team for most of the game. At the start of the game, they managed to find a few moves that unsettled us, with deep runs down our left flank. After that, we gained the upper hand by pressing hard, getting forward on our opponents, keeping them low and forcing them into long passes. I think we opened the scoring quite logically. But then we inexplicably went backwards, even though our objective was to keep moving forward, and we paid for it, even though they weren't really dangerous. But we're not at the mercy of a ball in the box with so many people. They equalised on an unfortunate occasion with very little danger created."
Racing Club de Lens defender Jonathan Gradit: "It was a goal that came against the run of play at the end. We tried to push on and we even ended up with ten men, so it was a really unusual match! In the end, we've been rewarded and we're very happy. It also rewards our efforts and the fact that we didn't give up throughout the match. We were chasing the score after that unfortunate penalty. After that, the match was more complicated and different."
The Stat - eleven
Lens have scored in each of their last 11 away games in Ligue 1, recording their second longest such streak in the last 40 years after January-August 2023 (13).
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