Franck Haise’s Rc Lens - Constantly Punching Above Their Weight

Continuing to defy the odds and currently sitting second in Ligue 1, it's incredible to reflect that RC Lens were still in Ligue 2 just two-and-a-half years ago.

Proving a massive force to be reckoned with and a nightmare to play against, the tactically astute Franck Haise deserves immense credit for maximizing his team's strengths to ensure they constantly punch above their weight.

Having secured two impressive seventh-placed finishes in the last two seasons since their promotion to Ligue 1, only narrowingly missing European qualification on both occasions, Haise's high-flying side appears destined to not miss out this time around.

Playing with confidence, clarity and conviction, Haise's ability to keep adapting and improving on the firm foundations he's built over the years, despite losing a host of key players, has served as a testament to his managerial prowess.

Indeed, having lost the likes of Arnaud Kalimuendo, Jonathan Clauss, Cheick Doucoure, Ignatius Ganago and Christopher Wooh in the summer, many thought they'd suffer a slight decrease in performance. But this certainly hasn't been the case, for not only have they brought in some shrewd additions such as Lois Openda, Salis Adbul Samed, Adam Buksa, Brice Samba, Jean Onana, Jimmy Cabot and Alexis Claude-Maurice, but Haise's yet again harnessed the power of the collective to ensure they've been as good as ever.

"Obviously, when we have 33 (now 36) points at this time of the season, we can say that a European place is accessible," recently explained Haise.

"We will do everything to improve our total points. Last year, we had five more. If we take five more, we should be in Europe. But the group is very focused on our performances every weekend, we don't go on projections. There is a lot of ambition in the group but we know that we get through the work.

"They know that every match is difficult. There is no runaway. We know very well that we are not PSG or the big teams with large squads. We are Lens and we try to do Lens. It's not always easy, but we try. I can only take my hat off to them. Everyone would like us to win by scoring lots of goals, but the reality is different and above all, I'm very happy with the answers we've given. The players provide answers that are of quality."

So well drilled and organized in all phases of the game, their defensive efforts offer a great place to start, though, for they've been brilliant in this compartment. Having only conceded 10 goals so far this campaign, which places them second behind Paris Saint-Germain for the best defensive record in the league, they've been a tough nut to crack for all challengers from their base 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation.

Disciplined and right in tune with the roles and responsibilities placed on them, the players know exactly what to do depending on the situation. Recognizing when to drop deeper as a unit, shift across, press high, track runners, hand over marking assignments and awake to pressing triggers, there's been much to admire about their cohesion and ability to stifle opponents while remaining compact.

To focus on their centrally compact high pressing, and they've done so in a coordinated and calculated fashion to make life as difficult as possible for opponents to build up smoothly. Wanting to usher their adversaries towards the touchline, once the ball is played wide, this serves as a trigger to ramp up the intensity.

Locking in on their targets assertively from their usual man-oriented structure, using the touchline as an extra defender, and using their cover shadows shrewdly to block passing lanes behind them, Lens excel at giving opponents minimal time and space to execute their actions.

As a result, they force many turnovers so they can instantly attack again and ensure their targets can only perform low percentage clearances upfield that typically end up with Lens regaining possession.

Responding briskly to pressing cues such as a sideways, aerial, backwards or underhit pass, plus when an opponent is receiving with their back to goal or in an open body posture, Lens are ready to pounce.

How the central defenders, midfielders and high-stepping wingbacks aggressively harry their respective opponents with their back to goal has certainly also been a key feature, for they aim to get touchtight to reduce any chance their tracker has of turning or gaining separation.

Another key tenet of their defensive armory is their intense counter-pressing once they lose possession. Eager to swarm the ball holder and potential outlets in the vicinity, their aim is to recover possession high up so they can attack again vs. somewhat disorganized backlines that were preparing for a transition of their own.

Although they can be exposed if the opposition bypass their wave of counterpressure, having three central defenders gives them an extra layer of security to handle fast breakaways so they're not severely shorthanded or stretched out.

Boasting many strong, athletic and powerful players that can hold their own in duels both in the air and on the ground helps them regain possession, deal with danger from crosses and set-pieces, win vital second balls and manage 1v1 scenarios.

Working wonderfully as a unit to nullify opponents when defending deep, in a mid-block or pressing high while fulfilling their duties individually, Haise's defined system has been an integral component towards their success.

By the numbers defensively, the below Wyscout figures punctuate what an outstanding unit they’ve been in this compartment.

• 2nd for goals conceded - 10
• 2nd for shots against p90 - 8.27
• 6th for PPDA - 9.40
• 6th for challenge intensity - 5.70

Meanwhile, on the attacking end, Lens are no slouches either, for they boast a handy array of weapons to hurt opponents from their nominal 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 animation that has many permutations.

Typically preferring to build out from the back, they do a great job of making the pitch big to place opposition pressing units under duress to create disconnects. With the outside central defenders splitting wide, which then allows the wingbacks to push high, this gives them a firm platform to start with.

So adept at adapting their midfield setup, they then mix things by either having a double pivot in place, just one holding midfielder ahead of the center-halves, which allows the other central midfielder to push on, or instructing one of them to drop into the deep half spaces to help them progress smoothly.

The attacking midfielders and striker are then forever causing issues with their buzzing movement between the lines, plus from how they drop deep into true central midfield zones, the half-spaces, surge in behind or support wide attacks.

Masters at generating numerical and positional superiorities all over the pitch and at positioning themselves at differing heights and depths, opponents have found them a menace to persistently shut down.

Moreover, how they add some extra variety when one of the attacking midfielders checks deep behind the onrushing wingbacks to get on the ball with more time and space and with a whole view of the field has aided their desire to dominate possession.

Their astute rotations have been another highlight to keep defenders on their toes and give them additional unpredictability. Whether it be the deeper midfielders switching with the wingbacks or their attacking mids, the attacking mids interchanging with the striker or really any combination of the above, Haise's done a superb job of getting his players to undertake these so seamlessly.

The penetrative, late-arriving runs into the box from Fofana are also a fine weapon in their arsenal, for his powerful, well-timed surges give them an extra number and allow him to ghost in undetected to be a real scoring threat.

Being a team that uses crosses and cutbacks as an important source of chance creation, they importantly populate the box with many options so the man on the ball has a range of outlets in different locations within the area to convert deliveries.