Lens push their wing-backs high and wide, press as soon as you try to play out from the back, and break forward quickly when they win the ball.
“Atuando maioritariamente num 3-4-3 (ou 3-4-2-1 com os extremos a serem mais interiores atuando nas costas do ponta de lança), o Lens é uma equipa que atua muito com base na projeção e largura dos laterais, pressão na hora do adversário tentar construir e transições rápidas em geral.”Playing mostly in a 3-4-3 (or a 3-4-2-1 with the wingers tucked in behind the striker), Lens are a side built largely on their wing-backs pushing up and giving width, pressing when the opponent tries to build play, and fast transitions in general. our translation
Sporting's coach expects Lens to come down the flanks, get forward very quickly and put a lot of crosses into the box.
“Criam muitas situações pelos corredores, chegam à frente com muita rapidez, cruzam muito...”They create a lot of chances down the flanks, get forward very quickly, cross a lot... our translation
Under their new coach, Yannick Cahuzac, Lens are back to pressing hard: the plan is to go after the other side and stop them building from the back.
“On avait bien travaillé notre animation défensive pour être hyper proactifs, pour pouvoir les agresser et les empêcher de construire le jeu”We had worked hard on our defensive organisation to be very proactive, so we could get at them and stop them building play. our translation
Their new coach, Yannick Cahuzac, says the very direct play kept pulling the team apart and letting opponents cut straight through.
“Le fait d’avoir un jeu très direct, ça ouvre notre bloc, et après on a du mal à garder cette compacité et on peut souvent se faire transpercer.”Playing very directly opens up our block, and then we struggle to stay compact and can often get cut open. our translation
Pressing hard has been the priority this season, even with a shaky defence behind it.
“L’entraîneur allemand réclame davantage de maîtrise et de puissance dans le pressing, tout en assumant le manque de régularité de sa défense.”The German coach wants more control and power in the pressing, while admitting his defence lacks consistency. our translation
They want more of the ball, partly to save their legs for pressing.
“L’objectif est clair : mieux conserver le ballon pour garder suffisamment d’énergie au moment de presser et de le récupérer.”The aim is clear: keep the ball better so as to save enough energy for pressing and winning it back. our translation
When Lens press, one wing-back charges out of defence to close down the full-back in front of him, while on the other side their playmaker does that job. Teams that push both full-backs forward can drag them out of shape.
“Au début, c’était prévu qu’il n’y ait qu’un piston qui saute (dans le pressing). Et sur l’autre côté, c’est le numéro 10. Mais quand ils ont mis les deux latéraux quelques fois aussi un peu plus haut, on s’est dit qu’on allait s’occuper des pistons.”At the start, the plan was that only one wing-back would jump out (in the press). And on the other side, it's the number 10. But when they sometimes pushed both their full-backs a bit higher, we decided we'd deal with them using the wing-backs. our translation
They keep last season's high energy and pressing, but now try to pass their way out from the back in short combinations and swing the ball quickly from one side to the other.
“Il détaille une philosophie tournée vers la construction et la percussion : beaucoup de jeu combiné et de passes courtes, la volonté de déséquilibrer l’adversaire, un travail approfondi sur la sortie de balle et les changements rapides de côté, sans oublier l’exploitation de la profondeur pour le numéro dix.”He describes a philosophy geared towards building play and cutting through: plenty of combination play and short passes, the intent to pull the opponent out of shape, in-depth work on playing out from the back and quick switches of play, not forgetting running in behind for the number 10. our translation
The wide players no longer just hug the touchline and cross. They will often drift inside into the middle instead, and the midfield numbers change from game to game.
“il y a aussi des pistons qui ont peut-être moins un rôle de centreur, comme j’ai pu le faire l’année dernière. Ils seront parfois plus présents à l’intérieur du jeu.”there are also wing-backs who maybe have less of a crossing role than the one I had last year. They will sometimes be more involved inside the pitch. our translation