Lens changed coach after 28 days, and their own defender decided the first match under the new one

Lens sacked Dino Toppmöller on Tuesday, 28 days after his first match in charge. On Friday night at the Stade Louis-II, with Yannick Cahuzac in the dugout for the first time, they lost 2-1 to a goal their own defender scored.

Jonathan Gradit turned Vanderson’s cross past his own goalkeeper in the 84th minute. Monaco go top of Ligue 1.

Twenty-eight days

Toppmöller arrived this summer, took charge of six matches, won three, drew one and lost two. One of the wins was the Trophée des Champions against Paris Saint-Germain. He was gone by 15 September, which French reporting made the shortest tenure for a club coach in the country since 1945.

The stated reason was not results. Lens wanted to change the coaching staff around him, Toppmöller did not agree to it, and the club’s statement said it had decided to bring his mission to an end.

Cahuzac, who was on that staff, got the job. He does not hold the BEPF, the French professional coaching licence, and he has not been at Lens for the twelve months that would have let the club apply for an exemption. The national technical directorate turned down their appeal, so Lens now pay 25,000 euros for every Ligue 1 match he takes. The fine does not apply in the Champions League.

Brunner scores again, and then Lens have their hour

Monaco should have been out of sight by half-time. Paris Brunner put them ahead in the 33rd minute after Matthis Abline set him up, and Abline spent much of the half a stride offside, with more than one Monaco goal wiped out.

Jean-Clair Todibo came off at the break and Lens reshaped to a back four. Lens got into the game from there. Matthieu Udol lost his marker at a Florian Thauvin corner and headed in at the near post on 57 minutes, and for half an hour the visitors were the better side. Lukáš Hradecký had to save well on 74 minutes to keep it level.

Then Vanderson drove a ball across the six-yard box, Gradit got a touch, and it went in. Lens had the rest of the match to find another and did not, and Cahuzac had lost his first one.

Monaco have not lost yet

Five games into the season Monaco have 13 points from four wins and a draw, three ahead of Lille and Rennes. Brunner, who is 20, has four league goals in those five matches. It is the third season in a row Monaco have won four of their opening five.

Lens are five games into a season that has already had two managers, and every Ligue 1 week under the second one costs them 25,000 euros. Cahuzac’s next job is to make that look like the smaller problem.

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