Finished! Lens qualifies for the round of 16!
Sang et Or continued their momentum and quietly crossed the Brest barrier! If the first period gave rise to a very open and committed duel, the second served more as a screw for Lensois, who qualified for the knockout stages of the Coupe de France.
Tension on the benches
The Brest substitutions get irritated and hang on in the final seconds of the game, without much consequence.
Dembele accepted
After receiving an initial shot blocked, Dembélé in turn tripped the opposition defense as he placed his shot in the area.
3 minutes extra time
The final whistle and qualification for RC Lens is fast approaching, after a disappointing second half.
Sotoca tries a scissors
Attended by Le Cardinal from the right, Sotoca tries an acrobatic gesture. The ball goes over the goal.
Brest finishes better
Locals seem more enterprising, driven by their participants. But it seems far too late to thwart the Lensois bloc.
Fofana gives in
The Lensois captain leaves his seat to Onana and his armband to Sotoca.
Bras do not fit
On a corner from the right, it comes back in two legs to Brassier, whose back-to-goal attempt lacks precision.
Dembele takes care of his entry
The striker makes the difference on the right side of the surface and sends a powerful cross blocked by Leca.
Roy makes his latest change
Dembélé replaces Magnetti in the final minutes of the game.
Camblan requests Leca
In front of the surface, the incoming spot a broken strike, easily caught by the northern keeper.
Arconte saves Brest
With a backheel from Sotoca to Frankowski in the area, the Breton defender narrowly edged the incoming player to keep his side alive in this match.
Machado blows
The left piston, very active this evening, gives way to Frankowski.
Thomasson misses the target
Well served by Fofana on the left on the surface, the third Lensois scorer sends his effort well over the target.
Camara initiates an awakening
At the end of a big breakthrough in the axis, the Brest midfielder takes his chance in front of the surface. His shot is blocked and then caught by Leca.
Brest holds the ball
But there are very few moves and solutions to worry the artesian defense.
new changes
Roy decides to rotate, replacing Honorat and Slimani with Mounié and Arconte. In Lens, Haise selects Claude-Maurice for the Sotoca contribution, author of a hat-trick in the first match of Ligue 1.
The rhythm has dropped
Despite few opportunities, the intensity did not pick up in this second period. Lens is on its way to the round of 16.
Leca little in demand
The Lensois goalkeeper has suffered just one shot on target since kick-off. In the second half, Brestois were not very dangerous at the moment.
Double change to Brest
Le Douaron and Lees-Melou are replaced by Camblan and Camara. Meanwhile, Fofana summons his medical staff near the bench.
Thomasson close to a double
After receiving a Machado cross from the left, Thomasson lacks power on his header. Blazquez blocks.
Cardinal center fort
Openda came close to heading home from close range, but Blazquez cleared the danger.
Honorat wastes an opportunity
The pass to Slimani is not secured in transition, giving possession too quickly.
Blazquez is doing very well!
Displaced by Openda, Machado crosses strongly at a tight angle to the left on the surface. Blazquez deflects the ball off his post before it slides over the goal line.
Heat in the lens area!
Brassier sees his attempted corner deflected and headed just outside the frame. Seconds earlier, Le Douaron came very close to taking a cross from Lala with a header.
Openda keeps a counter
For alone, the Belgian striker lost possession near the opposite area on the left.
Free kick for the Bretons
Honorat rushes to the left and turns to a diving center. The danger is temporarily averted.
Brest recovers the ball
The locals spin the ball at the start of the second half, without managing to become dangerous again.
Double change in lens
Medina, wounded, gives way to Haïdara. Saïd is also replaced post by post by Openda.
Here we go again !
Start of the second period between Brest and Lens!
Break in Brest!
Lens leads 3-1 at the break of a very committed and spectacular round of 16! If Saïd, Medina and Thomasson scored, the Bretons could have taken advantage of a penalty before the third opposition goal, as they had managed to equalize through Slimani.
Alert for Pigeons too
The Brest team suffers from the right side after a duel with Le Cardinal. He is treated, at the end of the first period chopped.
Abdul Samed wounded
The Lensois midfielder requests the intervention of the healers after injuring himself alone in midfield.
Blazquez scares himself
Machado crosses strongly from the left. Blazquez pushes back with a header before seeing Thomasson miss his recovery in front of goal.
Lens makes up the game
Having managed to make the difference, the visitors try to slow down the pace as they wait for the break.
Said tries from afar
His shot from outside the area goes into the small left outside netting of Brestois.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Thomasson celebrates his first Lensoise spell with a goal! Medina sends a cross from the left towards his attacking midfielder, who cuts the path of the header to score on the left. Lens now leads 3-1!
Lees-Melou called to order
Minutes after picking up a yellow card in protest, the Brest captain avoided the worst, on a tactical error in front of Claude-Maurice.
no respite
Since kick-off, the two teams have put on a really good show and tried to add more and more rhythm. Brest is again involved in the last 30 opposite meters.
Brest demands a penalty!
At the engagement, Brest projects and Honorat collapses on the surface after contact with Machado! The referee points to the corner flag. As a reminder, there is no VAR at this stage of the competition.
BUUUUUUUT FROM MEDINA!
Lens is back in charge, what a game! Claude-Maurice sends in a free kick from the left. Medina cuts the line into the header box and takes advantage of a dangerous exit from Blazquez. The ball comes in using the right upright!
Fofana on the ground
After contact with Dari and a blow to the knee, the artesian captain takes his time to stand up. Playback can be quickly resumed.
Slimani does not benefit
Despite an interesting interception in midfield, Slimani misses his pass to Honorat, who had gone deep.
Good release from Blazquez
Fofana is searched in depth on a long overhand drive. The Brest goalkeeper expects to take the ball in flight on the edge of his area.
The douaron answered
On a free kick deflected by the wall, Slimani recovers on the left side of the surface and serves Le Douaron in one touch, whose recovery is denied by the defence.
Claude-Maurice is looking for his attackers
His free-kick is too deep and eventually denied by the Brest defence, who are gaining momentum.
SLIMANI IS EQUALIZER!
Brest comes back to score! From the right, Honorat deposits a caviar on the head of Slimani thanks to a long cross. The Algerian striker takes Leca on the wrong foot, 1-1!
Magnetti strikes above
In front of the field, Magnetti takes his chance with his back to goal with a half-volley. His attempt ends directly in the gallery.
Lens is combined in the surface
On the edge of offside, Claude-Maurice is finally overtaken by Lala on the left. The danger is far away.
A lively start
In addition to the opportunities on each side, the two teams set the pace in this first quarter of play.
DOUARON FINDS THE BAR!
Honorat overflows on the right side of the surface and crosses towards Le Douaron, ideally placed in front of the goal. His header is deflected off the Lensoise crossbar. What a start to the game!
Machado in pain
Lala makes a big mistake, knee forward, in his duel with Machado. He escapes without warning, while his vis-à-vis remains on the ground.
Lens on the way
Beaten only once this season, the visitors confirm with this great start to the game. The task looks complicated for Brest, who do not see the ball.
BUUUUUUUUT OF SAÏD!
Lens is already taking the lead! After receiving a deflected cross, Le Cardinal tries his luck at the far post, to the right of the area. Saïd deflects with a subtle Madjer that passes between Blazquez’s legs.
Claude-Maurice hits his shot!
For his first tenure at Lens, Thomasson finds an opening for Claude-Maurice on the left. His powerful shot was blocked in two stages by Blazquez.
Let’s go between Brest and Lens!
Mr. Gaillouste finally starts, good fight everyone!
Smoke bombs delay kick-off
While the actors were ready to start the meeting, it will begin in just a few minutes. The smoke coming from the smoke that the Brest supporters crack obstructs the view.
Kick-off imminent
The two teams take to the grass at the Francis-Le Blé stadium. The match will start in a few moments.
Roy finds Lens
The Brest coach, who was appointed on January 3, was the sporting director of RC Lens between 2017 and 2019. He particularly rubbed shoulders with Franck Haise, who was in charge of the reserves at the time.
Today’s first results
Lille and Auxerre pass quietly in the round of 16, while Nantes were scared to eliminate Thaon (N3) on penalties. Annecy (L2) and Vierzon (N2) are also doing well after the penalty shootout.
Niort (L2) – Auxerre (L1): 0-4
Little (L1) – Paul (L2): 2-0
Thaon (N3) – Nantes (L1): 0-0 (2-4 LOSS)
Le Puy (N1) – Quadrangle (N2): 0-0 (3-5 LOSS)
Belfort- Annecy (L2): 1 – 1 (3-4 LOSS)
100th day for Gradit
The 30-year-old Lensois defender will tonight play his 100th game with Sang et Or, which he joined in 2019 from Caen.
See you in two weeks
The Bretons and Sang et Or will meet at the same stadium on the weekend of February 5 on the 22nd day of Ligue 1.
At the start of the championship, Lens won on August 7 in a spirited match (3-2), where Belkebla and Del Castillo responded to a hat-trick from Sotoca.
Similar scenarios in the 32nd final
Coming into the match, Brest defeated Avranches (N1) thanks to goals from Lees-Melou and Camblan at the end of the match (2-0). Lens had also waited for the second period to take a goal from Linas-Montlhéry (N3), with a double from Sotoca (2-0).
The composition from Brest, with Slimani
Blazquez – Lala, Dari, Duverne, Brassier – Belkebla, Lees-Melou, Magnetti – Le Douaron, Slimani, Honorat
The eleven Lensois, first term of office for Thomasson
Leca – Gradit, Danso, Machado – The Cardinal, Abdul Samed, Fofana, Machado – Claude-Maurice, Thomasson – Saïd
Opposite dynamics
If Brest has just chained three defeats and two draws in Ligue 1 and is in the position of first relegation (17th), RC Lens is still a solid runner-up to PSG after beating on January 1 (3-1). Sang et Or has not lost since October 9 against LOSC (0-1).
good night everyone
Welcome to our live commentary to follow the 16th final of the Coupe de France live between Brest and Lens. The start will be given at 21 o’clock at the Francis-Le Blé stadium.