Pierre Sage is experiencing one of the best Ligue 1 managerial starts this century | OneFootball

Pierre Sage has made the most of his managerial opportunities in the French top-flight. The RC Lens boss will oversee his 50th fixture in Ligue 1 on Saturday when Les Sang et Or welcome the league leaders Olympique de Marseille to Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

While Olympique Lyonnais weren’t satisfied with his work last season, there’s no denying the French coach has been incredibly successful as a manager in this league. With 28 wins, Sage is the 10th most successful Ligue 1 coach in the 21st century within his first 50 matches in the division.

Those ahead of him on that list are a who’s who of coaches in the French top-flight.  Five of the names above him for wins after 49 Ligue 1 affairs are former Paris Saint-Germain bosses, Carlo Ancelotti (29), Luis Enrique (33), Mauricio Pochettino (35), Unai Emery (36) and Thomas Tuchel (38).

The other four are former AS Monaco coaches: Niko Kovac, Adi Hütter, Philippe Clement, and Claudio Ranieri, who all achieved 29 triumphs in their first 49 matches in this competition.

Sage is tied with Bruno Génésio and Laurent Blanc for the 10th most wins after 49 encounters in Ligue 1 as a manager. Sage has Lens currently sitting fourth in the table, on a four-match unbeaten run, winning three of those encounters.

With 16 points after eight matchdays, it is the best start to a Ligue 1 campaign for this club since the 2022-23 season, when Franck Haise was in charge and they claimed 18 points after eight league fixtures.

The team finished second in the table by the end of that campaign, just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre