Ligue 1: Yannick Cahuzac and Lens, it’s already over

Appointed coach of Lens in mid-September, Yannick Cahuzac was sacked less than a week after a historic rout in the Champions League, AFP learned Tuesday from a source close to the club, confirming information from the newspaper L'Équipe.

Cahuzac, who succeeded Dino Toppmöller less than two months ago, was carried away by the humiliation of the Sang et Or at home against Como (9-1) last Wednesday, before suffering another setback at Bollaert against Marseille (2-1), Sunday in the championship. “We feel like we are sick. We feel that Wednesday left some after-effects,” admitted Cahuzac after the match against OM. “We were able to raise our heads. But we have a lot of shortcomings, we feel that we no longer have confidence.”

Captain of the Sang et Or between 2019 and 2022, the former midfielder joined Toppmöller's staff this summer, before being promoted to make his debut as head coach due to the surprise departure of the German coach after just four days of Ligue 1. In nine games at the helm of Lens, Cahuzac has won only three wins and six defeats in all competitions.

Above all, he did not win any points in the Champions League, with three losses against Sporting Portugal (2-0), Bruges (3-0), and therefore the historic one against Como, the worst ever recorded by a French club in the competition. “In front of our fans, here, in Bollaert, this is not acceptable,” declared the president of RC Lens Joseph Oughourlian on Sunday at the microphone of the Ligue 1+ broadcaster, explaining that he had “never again” written on the walls of the locker room.