PLAYER RATINGS | Lens 2-1 Reims: Séko Fofana seals comeback for depleted hosts | OneFootball

Just under a month ago, Lens had seen their brief title ambitions shattered against Paris Saint-Germain when midfielder Salis Abdul Samed was sent off early on, and the league leaders duly put three past Franck Haise’s men in the blink of an eye. Tonight, off the back of their impressive win against Marseille to retake second place, the Champions League hopefuls’ belief and determination would only grow after going down to ten men.

Like at the Parc des Princes, the early Sang et Or momentum would be abruptly cut short – the home defence was caught out by Marshall Munetsi’s break through on goal, and Kevin Danso was duly shown red after bringing the midfielder down in the penalty area. Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun would dispatch the ensuing spot-kick, for his 19th goal of the campaign.

Will Still’s men would keep the pressure on after finding the opener, with Junya Ito and Alexis Flips seeing their efforts narrowly go wide. The hosts, though, weathered the opposition attacks and draw a penalty of their own, with Emmanuel Agbadou pushing over Adrien Thomasson on the edge of the box. Przemysław Frankowski would convert, and suddenly Lens were able to find the spirit needed to go up against the Champagne side again, rediscovering the sparkle in their play.

It was that newfound bravado that would inspire Séko Fofana to go on a sensation run ten minutes after the restart – dribbling past three Reims players before firing his shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Reims would come close to drawing another sending off, as Brice Samba had initially appeared to clip Balogun one on one – but the decision was overturned, and the forward was booked instead for diving.

Some late scares would ensue – as would always be the case against a strong Reims side – but the hosts, true to their roots, dug deep to hold on. They now sit just three points off Paris Saint-Germain, with the leaders hosting Ajaccio tomorrow. More importantly, Haise is now just a couple of games away from leading his team back into the Champions League after two decades away. It would be nothing less than what the team, and its infectiously fervent home support, deserve.

Lens player ratings:

Brice Samba, 7

Przemysław Frankowski, 7 – Beyond the penalty he confidently dispatched to level the score, the Pole was dominant on his right-flank, constantly providing both defensive security and an attacking outlet. The league’s best right-back this season.

Jonathan Gradit, 7

Facundo Medina, 6

Kevin Danso, N/A – Was sent off early on for a push on Marshall Munetsi, and had looked uncharacteristically shaky until then.

Deiver Machado, 6

Salis Abdul Samed, 5

Séko Fofana, 8 – Led by example and helped his teammates stay level-headed when they went down to 10, before coming up with yet another match-winning moment in a big game with his slaloming run and precise strike.

Adrien Thomasson, 6

Florian Sotoca, 5

Loïs Openda, 5 – Given his team were quickly down to ten men, the Belgian forward was somewhat short of opportunities. He did work hard though, and was able to break away on several occasions to take some pressure off his teammates.

Reims player ratings:

Yehvann Diouf, 6

Thomas Foket, 4

Emmanuel Agbadou, 3 – Gave away the penalty that let Lens back into the game, and let Fofana get past him too easily for the second goal.

Yunis Abdelhamid, 5

Maxime Busi, 4

Jens Cajuste, 4

Marshall Munetsi, 7

Azor Matusiwa, 4

Alexis Flips, 6 – Looked dangerous in the first half, notably with a defence-splitting pass that led to the penalty, and was generally the catalyst for Reims’ attacks.

Junya Ito, 5

Folarin Balogun, 6 – Was a constant threat for the best defence in the league, and scored from the spot in the first half. The Arsenal loanee was unable to unable to convert his chances after the break though, and lost his one-on-one chance against Brice Samba by diving to the ground.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin