A club can challenge for the Ligue 1 title or European spots in various ways. One of them is having a quality bench and using their depth to secure significant wins throughout the season.
RC Lens has been at the top this 2023-24 season, leaning heavily on their bench. Lens is the team that has given the most playing time to their substitutes in this campaign, with 1468 minutes.
It is no surprise that Lens is at the top, considering they had to build depth this past summer to construct a squad to compete in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League.
Lens needing fresh legs to play Ligue 1 games after Champions League contests and vice versa might explain why Lens is the only team to have used all five substitutions in all their top-flight matches this season.
Morgan Guilavogui is at the forefront of the Lens super-sub strategy manager Franck Haise has depended on to make any tactical adjustment to come off the bench. The 25-year-old has played 283 minutes this season as a substitute.
Additionally, this approach to their games has worked for Haise. Lens has goals from Guilavogui (2) and Przemyslaw Frankowski (2) as substitutes, among the best in Ligue 1 this season.
Lens had a challenging start to the campaign, but they have now climbed the table and are currently in sixth place with 22 points. Les Sang et Or are one point off a European spot and four points off the UEFA Champions League qualifying position, provided France stays fifth in the UEFA coefficient.
For Lens to secure a spot in the Champions League next season, they might need to continue relying on their bench and its ability to make impactful substitutions at the right time.
