Florian Thauvin set for hostile Lille return as Lens derby looms | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Florian Thauvin is set for a frosty reception at Pierre-Mauroy in Saturday’s Lille v Lens derby at 21:05, a ground where he has never scored. Three weeks after Emiliano Martinez was loudly jeered during Lille’s Europa League last-16 exit to Aston Villa, 0-1 then 0-2, the stadium braces for another unwelcome visitor.

Thauvin’s brief Lille spell in 2013 lasted 215 days from January to August, featuring only a handful of training sessions and no appearance as egos clashed, a saga the then coach René Girard likened to soap opera episodes. He left for Marseille at the end of that summer.

His first return in early December 2013 turned ugly, with insults at Lille-Lesquin airport and a scuffle involving Marseille security before he was shadowed by three bodyguards throughout his stay. Since then he has been booed on every visit, although the mood has softened, and he remains goalless in seven matches here, with one assist.

At Bollaert on 20 September, Lens executives teased their rivals by gifting a Thauvin-flocked shirt, and he struck the second in a 3-0 win. A lull followed for several weeks, then another through December and January, when he acknowledged winter’s lack of sun hits him and suggested brighter days ahead.

They arrived. Over the past two months he has nine goal contributions in eight games in all competitions, five goals and four assists, and a presence that lifts the group. His coolly taken decisive penalty after a 2-2 draw against Lyon on 4 March sent Lens into the Coupe de France semi-finals.

Before the international break he dismantled Angers 5-1 on the 20th with a goal and two assists, while responding to his France omission by saying he must keep performing and give his maximum. The effort to sway Didier Deschamps now begins with a test in hostile territory.

Source: L'Équipe