Paris (AFP)
The promoted Lens continues to surprise, now provisional second in Ligue 1 after his success against Saint-Etienne (2-0) on Saturday;
For its part, Nice revived against Nantes (2-1), before the rest of the 6th day.
"These 13 points, we had not anticipated them, but we did not steal them," remarked Sang et Or coach Franck Haise.
Unbeaten for five matches, his team has as many points as the leader Rennes, who receives Reims on Sunday.
Against the Greens, another good surprise at the start of the season, the Artesiens have shown that they are not just a summer hit.
Gaël Kakuta (15th on pen.) And Florian Sotoca (81st) have concretized their domination, which the red cards of Timothée Kolodziejczak (14th) and Wahbi Khazri (64th) also favored.
"We are surprised without being surprised because we know that we have quality in this team. The most important thing is to keep up as quickly as possible. We are not going to ignite," warns Sotoca.
The derby against Lille, on the return of the international break, inevitably promises, even if the striker Ignatius Ganago, hit in an ankle by the tackle of Kolodziejczak which led to his exclusion, could miss it.
ASSE (7th, 10 pts) continues a second setback in a row.
"There is a little less good for my players. We must find efficiency on all levels," said coach Claude Puel.
The Greens will be able to take an example from Nice, their next opponent.
Like them, the Aiglons went through a period of uncertainty, with four consecutive games without winning.
They recovered against the Canaries, to return to 8th place (10 pts), just behind ... Saint-Etienne.
The very rapid exclusion of Nantes' Andrei Girotto (3rd) gave the Niçois a scenario to their advantage, even if the equalizer from the penalty kick of Imran Louza (45th + 6) sent some scares.
Dante (27th) and Kephren Thuram-Ulien (62nd) scored for Nice.
Nantes remains for its part in 15th place (5 pts), which could threaten its trainer Christian Gourcuff.
"When you do this job, you have to be ready for anything. When you have a little more experience, as in my case, you are still a little more ready for anything", he said before the meet.
The 6th day ends on Sunday with the highlight "Olimpico" between Lyon and Marseille (9:00 pm).
© 2020 AFP