Nantes – Lens: the Sang et Or are getting closer to European places after a small victory

Lens goes up, Nantes sinks. Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men welcomed the Sang et Or this Saturday evening at La Beaujoire for the 20th day of Ligue 1. While the northern team, 6th in Ligue 1, aimed to put pressure on their European rivals, Nantes (13th) was looking to move away from the relegation zone. From the start, the Lensois showed their determination, with a powerful strike from David Pereira da Costa hitting the bar even before the first minute.

However, Nantes quickly regained control of the game and had the best chances of the first half. However, the injury exit of winter recruit Kelvin Amian, replaced by Nicolas Pallois, is not good news for the rest of the championship. Fate fell hard on the Yellow and Green when Tino Kadewere thought of opening the scoring, but the VAR canceled his goal for offside (21st). They even almost opened the score before the break, but Ruben Aguilar’s unfortunate header was saved on the line by Brice Samba. Both teams returned to the locker room with a goalless draw.

Pereira da Costa encore decisif

Returning from the locker room, Lens regained the upper hand and opened the scoring thanks to Pereira da Costa, who thwarted the vigilance of the Nantes defense before scoring with a left-footed strike (0-1, 48th). Once the gap was made, Franck Haise’s men established their domination at the end of the match. Despite being behind on the scoreboard, the Canaries struggled to be dangerous and only took their first shot of the second half in the 75th minute, on a free kick from Florent Mollet directly into the wall. The Lens number 10 and only scorer of the evening narrowly missed the double but Alban Lafont limited the damage throughout the second half.

More incisive offensively, Lens won a second consecutive victory in the championship, temporarily placing itself on equal points with Lille in the standings, two points from the top 4. On the other hand, Nantes remains three points from the play-off place currently held by ‘Olympique Lyonnais. The Canaries will have to monitor the results of Toulouse (who can go ahead), Messins and Lyonnais (who can come back to their level) this Sunday.