Ligue 1 Daily Report - 2026-11-05: Lens suffer record-equalling 9-1 Champions League defeat

RC Lens lost 9-1 at home to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Ligue 1 club were overwhelmed by Cesc Fabregas’s side, who became the first away team to score nine goals since the competition was renamed in 1992. The margin matched the Champions League’s biggest victory, previously recorded in Liverpool’s 8-0 win over Besiktas and Real Madrid’s 8-0 success against Malmo. Como’s Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick, while Lens’s only goal came from Ruben Aguilar, whose long-range volley made it 7-1 midway through the second half.

Lens midfielder Michaël Cuisance apologised to supporters afterwards, saying the team needed to regroup and had not shown the required standard for Champions League football. The result was particularly damaging because Lens had been ninth in Ligue 1 after four wins, one draw and four defeats, a respectable domestic start under Pierre Sage. Fabregas urged Como to remain humble after the victory, but Lens now face the task of restoring confidence quickly. The scale of the defeat will also intensify scrutiny of the club’s European ambitions and defensive consistency as the league phase continues.

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The LFP brought forward plans for a new Ligue 1 domestic television tender by two years on Thursday. The league is seeking a broadcast partner ahead of the 2027-28 campaign, after Ligue 1 was left without a senior broadcaster in 2025 following a series of troubled rights agreements. LFP Media chief executive Olivier Bramly said there was renewed interest from traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms. The league launched its own direct-to-consumer service, Ligue 1+, last season after failing to secure a satisfactory offer for its main package, with the platform showing all ten matches each weekend.

Ligue 1+ has attracted around one million subscribers and will continue operating if the LFP does not receive an acceptable offer, according to Bramly. The league nevertheless wants to return to a more conventional rights arrangement because predictable broadcast income is important to clubs after several seasons of financial uncertainty. The tender is therefore not being presented as an admission that the streaming service failed. Instead, it reflects the LFP’s attempt to combine the platform’s established audience with a partner capable of delivering greater financial certainty from 2027 onwards.

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Lille president Olivier Letang was suspended for four months on Thursday over comments made after the club’s 2-2 Ligue 1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in late August. Letang had criticised the amount of stoppage time and objected to referee Eric Wattellier’s appointment, later describing the situation as a “scandal”. He was initially fined €20,000 by the league’s disciplinary commission, but the French Football Federation appealed, arguing that sanction was too lenient. The FFF’s appeals body subsequently imposed the longer suspension, escalating a dispute that had already drawn attention across French football.

A Lille spokesperson confirmed the punishment, while Letang said through a statement sent to AFP that he would pursue every available avenue of appeal, potentially including a case before the French courts. The sanction means the Lille president faces a significant period away from formal club activity following his public challenge to officiating standards. It also underlines the disciplinary authorities’ determination to punish direct criticism of referees and appointments. Lille must now manage the institutional consequences while Letang contests a decision that arose from one of the season’s most contentious early fixtures.

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Paris FC manager Liam Rosenior said his departure from Chelsea in April had “nothing to do with football” in an interview with So Foot published on Thursday. Rosenior lasted 23 matches and 107 days after moving from Strasbourg, another BlueCo-owned club, to replace Enzo Maresca in January. He described the Chelsea job as the best and hardest experience of his life, but said he would explain the circumstances in greater detail “one day, when the time is right”. The comments offered his clearest public reflection on a short spell that ended after only four months.

Rosenior is now rebuilding his reputation in the French capital, with Paris FC sitting fourth in Ligue 1 after winning five of his first nine matches in charge and losing two. He also criticised the way he was portrayed in the English media, referring to mockery surrounding his clothing, manner of speaking and tactical instructions. His remarks leave the Chelsea episode unresolved publicly, while his early Paris FC results provide a contrasting backdrop. Continued success in France could strengthen Rosenior’s position and ensure that any later account of his Chelsea exit attracts substantial attention.

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Strasbourg defender Genesis Antwi received his first senior Sweden call-up on Thursday. The 19-year-old Chelsea player is on loan at the Ligue 1 club and had made eight league appearances this season before being selected by Sweden head coach Graham Potter. Antwi was called up alongside Strasbourg team-mate Seb Nanasi for Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Stockholm on 14 November and Poland in Wroclaw three days later. The invitation recognised a rapid rise for a teenager who has represented both England and Sweden at youth level.

Antwi remains eligible to represent Ghana in the future, but the Sweden selection gives him an immediate opportunity to establish himself in the senior international set-up. He will join camp with the confidence generated by regular Ligue 1 exposure, although his first appearance will depend on Potter’s decision during the November window. For Strasbourg, the call-up offers recognition of the club’s contribution to his development and adds international interest to a player still at the early stage of his senior career.

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Monaco forward Mika Biereth was facing an uncertain future after his playing opportunities sharply declined, according to Daily Cannon on Thursday. The Denmark international had scored heavily after joining the club in January 2025, but had played only 15 Ligue 1 minutes during the previous two months. He featured for one minute in a 1-0 defeat at Lorient and had not made the squad in four of Monaco’s previous five matches. Biereth had also remained on the bench for Monaco’s opening two Conference League games, against CSKA Sofia and Freiburg.

The report said Biereth’s situation could lead to a potential January exit, although his place in the squad remained unsettled rather than officially decided. Folarin Balogun, Paris Brunner and Matthis Abline were listed ahead of him in the competition for attacking positions. The sharp change in status is significant because Biereth had initially become one of Monaco’s most productive forwards after arriving in France. His immediate challenge is to regain regular involvement, while Monaco must decide whether a short-term revival or a winter transfer best serves the player and the club.

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