Franck Haise on Lens win over Monaco: “It was our best match of the season.”

Facing Monaco on Saturday in a decisive fixture in the race for a Champions League spot, Lens responded to last week’s defeat at the Parc des Princes in emphatic fashion.

Franck Haise’s men would waste no time in getting off the mark at the Stade Bollaert, with Belgian striker Loïs Openda scoring a double within the first 15 minutes against his former manager. The hosts’ high-intensity pressing and all-action performances would leave no chance for the Principality side to get back into the game, with January signing Adrien Thomasson adding a third goal just before the hour mark to wrap up the game.

Speaking after the game, the Sang et Or manager was ecstatic with his team’s showing, the 3-0 win lifting them back into second place ahead of Marseille’s trip to Lyon on Sunday night. For Haise, the intensity that his players were able to sustain throughout the match was especially impressive:

“I think it was our best match of the season. I really enjoyed it. After 30 minutes, I was wondering whether we would be able to keep up that pace. We managed to for a while. We were facing a Monaco side who are very much at ease away from home. I thought it was a great match. Loïs Openda was decisive on all three goals, he’s been in form for a while. But everyone put in a massive performance. There are so many strong teams with a high number of points. We owe it to ourselves to keep going until the end of the season, to put in these types of performance, and get our reward for them. For the club, and for those who love RC Lens.”

Whatever OM’s result this evening, their trip up to Lens in two weeks’ time will undoubtedly be a pivotal moment in the race for second place, with Paris Saint-Germain now out of reach.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin