Seko Fofana proved the hero as Lens staged a dramatic comeback to beat northern derby rivals LOSC on penalties at the Stade Bollaert on Tuesday. Les Sang-et-Or will do battle with Monaco in one of four all-Ligue 1 Uber Eats clashes in the Coupe de France round of 16.
Two-nil up at half-time, LOSC looked to have the upper hand on their arch-rivals in this Coupe de France round of 32 tie, but Lens captain Seko Fofana had other ideas. After scoring a second-half double - the second of which came just seconds before the final whistle and sent the match to penalties - the influential midfielder struck the spot-kick that clinched the fairy tale turnaround.
Haise: 'My team gave their all'
"Tonight was an emotional rollercoaster, that's for sure, and the evening ended on a real high, which is great. It's the magic of the Coupe," said Lens boss Franck Haise. "It would have been a great league match that ended with a draw, not an unfair result, but a winner was needed. Lille were clinical when we made mistakes in the first half, they defended well and were strong up front. But my team gave their all and were spurred on by our fans."
A tough night for Les Dogues - especially Amadou Onana, who had hit both of LOSC's goals in a superb first-half performance, as well as captain Jose Fonte and star midfielder Renato Sanches, both of who missed their spot-kicks.
Headline clashes
With the draw for next round of the competition being held directly after the match, Lens found out immediately that they will now do battle with Monaco - under the aegis of new boss Philippe Clément - in a round of 16 that also pits holders Paris Saint-Germain against a resurgent OGC Nice (providing their bye for the round of 32 survives administrative appeal from Lyon) and OM against south-coast rivals Montpellier.
The round of 16 will be played on 28, 29, 30 and 31 January.
The complete round of 16 draw
Versailles (D4) - Toulouse (L2)
Bergerac (D4) - Saint-Etienne (L1)
Marseille (L1) - Montpellier (L1)
PSG (L1) - Nice (L1)
Nancy (L2) - Amiens (L2)
Lens (L1) - Monaco (L1)
Reims (L1) - Bastia (L2)
Nantes (L1) - Brest (L1)
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(Photo: rclens.fr)