Autumn champions and still top of Ligue 1 after 18 matchdays, Lens, who travel to Marseille on Saturday evening (9:05 pm), are starting to dream of a fate similar to Montpellier, Monaco, or Lille, the last champions outside of PSG since the arrival of QSI. Where do the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold) stand compared to the times achieved by these recent exceptions? The answer lies in the numbers.
First, there was the top spot snatched on the evening of Matchday 14, a first for Lens in Ligue 1 in… more than 21 years. Then came the honorary title of autumn champions – a misnomer, as we’ll see – to kickstart their year. And finally, their eighth consecutive Ligue 1 victory against Auxerre last Saturday, a first in the history of the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold). In short, RC Lens is racking up successes, which were initially symbolic and honorary, but are now starting to take on very tangible forms.
How, in this context, can one not get caught up in the excitement and dream of a league title? “I think it’s possible (…) we shouldn’t stop ourselves from dreaming,” declared sporting director Jean-Louis Leca on Canal+ on January 16th. The fact remains that wresting the trophy from PSG, which they have so thoroughly claimed, is a rare occurrence since QSI’s arrival, a feat only Montpellier (2012), Monaco (2017), and Lille (2021) have achieved. Where does Lens stand compared to these three potential predecessors?
43 points after 18 matchdays, a champion’s pace
Let’s start with some good news for the northern club: after 18 matchdays, the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold) have amassed 43 points (14 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses). Since the introduction of three points for a win, 18 teams have accumulated at least as many points after 18 matches. And only three have failed to win the title, the most recent being Nice in 2016-2017.
With 43 points after 18 matchdays, Lens has six more than Montpellier in 2012, four more than Monaco in 2017, and seven more than Lille in 2021. In truth, Lens is closer to the pace of Paris Saint-Germain in recent seasons—no small feat—than to that of the clubs they are trying to emulate. So much for their current form.
As for their position relative to their rivals, Pierre Sage’s men have no margin for error, holding only a one-point lead over Paris with 16 matchdays remaining. At the same point in the season, after the 22nd matchday (the league then comprised 38), Montpellier trailed PSG by three points, Monaco were joint leaders with Nice, and three points ahead of the Parisian club. Lille had the best start, two points ahead of Lyon and three ahead of Paris. It’s worth noting that none of these three teams had been crowned autumn champions after 19 matchdays.
The shadow of direct confrontations, the Champions League almost guaranteed
The only blemish on the record so far is the head-to-head record. Montpellier admittedly only managed one point in two matches against a PSG side that, in QSI’s early months, was obviously not the same as today. But against the formidable team built up over time, Monaco (3-1, 1-1) and Lille (0-0, 1-0) needed to be unbeaten in their two encounters to go all the way. Lens lost at the Parc des Princes last September (2-0) and knows what they’ll have to do at Bollaert on April 12th for the return leg. If that dream is still alive by then.
If Florian Thauvin and his teammates are looking to reassure themselves with a less daunting objective—one that was also frankly improbable at the start of the season—they can take comfort in the fact that neither Montpellier, nor Monaco, nor Lille had such a comfortable lead over third place at this point in the season as Lens does over Marseille before, precisely, their trip to the Vélodrome on Saturday night. With an eight-point cushion—and ten over fourth place—direct qualification for next season’s Champions League is starting to look very real. That would already be a huge achievement for a club that, let’s remember, announced an austerity program last summer.
