UEFA Europa Conference League Play-off, 29/08/24
RC Lens were made to pay for a string of missed chances as they squandered their first-leg advantage and failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League against Panathinaikos (2-0, agg. 3-2).
The match
The rhythm was set early on. Lens were not pressed and were allowed to control the game for large periods. They had chances too – lots of them. Wesley Saïd should have done better with a golden opportunity inside the box but his header from five yards out flew agonisingly wide.
Just minutes later, David Pereira da Costa burst into the Panathinaikos box, was brought down under light contact and earned a penalty, which was missed by Florian Sotoca, whose tame effort was comfortably saved. The chances kept on coming but the outcome was the same as Lens couldn’t make their superiority tell.
Adrien Thomasson almost got the goal that would have given Les Sang et Or a bit of breathing room, but his shot on the stretch was well saved by Bartlomiej Dragowski, who was exceptional in the Panathinaikos goal. Inevitably, Lens were punished and the goal came from former Manchester United man Facundo Pellistri, who joined the Greek side less than a week ago.
Panathinaikos broke through Pellistri, who then got onto the end of the move, putting his first-time finish past Brice Samba. The rhythm of the game was altered briefly with an enthused Panathinaikos pressing Lens high. Will Still’s side looked to have weathered the storm and went back to controlling and carving out the better opportunities.
However, they were once again hit on the break. Having over-committed at a corner, Panathinaikos found themselves in a two-on-one position. It was well worked with Tetê finishing the move with a shot on the slide. Fotis Ioannidis should have wrapped the game but he missed an open let with Brice Samba taken out of the game.
Panathinaikos were nearly punished for that finish, but they weren’t, and that was the difference on the night. Andy Diouf worked Dragowski into a great save from close range and then Rémy Labeau Lascary’s effort was then cleared off the line by Nemanja Maksimović.
“There are lots of regrets. We weren’t deadly enough, in attack and in defence, tonight,” summarised Thomasson in his post-match interview with Canal Plus. A wasteful Lens therefore miss out on qualification for the Europa Conference League. A cruel blow for Les Sang et Or and new manager Still.
Lens player ratings
Brice Samba – 4
Malang Sarr – 4
Sarr didn’t play a single minute of professional football last season and the season before, his minutes were severely limited while on loan at AS Monaco. The Frenchman’s return to action, a Lens debut in a hostile atmosphere in Greece, wasn’t a horror show, but nor was it a success. Clean in possession, he too often found himself bypassed and a step behind the game. He was notably too late to drop back on Panathinaikos’ opener.
Abdukodir Khusanov – 5
Jonathan Gradit – 4
Deiver Machado – 6
Andy Diouf – 7
The standout player for Lens. His driving runs through the thirds and ability to progress the ball were reminiscent of the player that we saw playing at Basel in the Europa Conference League two seasons ago. It was that player that Lens thought they bought back to Ligue 1. He has rarely shown that level since joining Lens but he showed it tonight. It was a performance that deserved more.
Adrien Thomasson – 5
Przemyslaw Frankowski – 6
Pereira Da Costa – 5
Florian Sotoca – 3
It was his missed penalty that set the tone and set the narrative. By his standards, it was a poor penalty but his overall play also fell below those standards. A scruffy performance, littered with losses of possession.
Wesley Saïd – 4
