What a crazy match! Trailing 2–0 to Lens shortly before the hour mark, the AS Monaco players refused to give up and turned everything around in the space of 10 minutes, scoring three goals through Folarin Balogun, Denis Zakaria, and Ansu Fati to complete the comeback and ultimately win 3–2 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelisf.Compte-rendu. ✍️

The context 📅

Having beaten Nantes last week (3-1) to extend their unbeaten run to four matches, the Red and Whites were aiming for a fifth in a row against Lens. But at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where the Blood and Gold have suffered only one defeat since the start of the season, it promised to be a difficult task, and they knew they needed to show “a united team spirit” to topple the league leaders.
They’re a team with momentum at home, but they also have areas we can exploit. We’ll do everything we can to play our game, show ambition, and also respond to their strengths. I don’t know whether their run will continue, but Saturday’s match will demand a lot of physical consistency from us. In any case, they bring a lot of intensity to their play because of the profile of their players.

Sébastien Pocognoli

Line-up 👥

For this clash, Sébastien Pocognoli set his team up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Thilo Kehrer returning at the heart of the defence alongside Wout Faes and Denis Zakaria. Jordan Teze was positioned in midfield next to Lamine Camara, while Mamadou Coulibaly started as the right midfielder. Simon Adingra lined up on the left to try to supply Folarin Balogun up front.

The scenario 🎞

In a sold-out Stade Bollaert-Delelis, with more than 500 AS Monaco supporters in the away end, the home side unfortunately took an early lead through Odsonne Édouard, who scored with a right-footed volley (1–0, 3'). Moments later, Florian Thauvin tried his luck from distance, but his right-footed effort was comfortably gathered by Philipp Köhn (7').

Chances to go level

After the difficult start, the Red and Whites responded well and came close to finding the equaliser, but Folarin Balogun was denied by Robin Risser, who made a sharp reflex save (21'). The number 9 then chanced his luck again with a header that went over the bar (26'). Monaco were on top, and following a good spell of pressing, Simon Adingra nearly find the top corner with a left-footed effort (42').

Lens responded, and Matthieu Udol came close to getting on the end of an Allan Saint-Maximin cross inside the six-yard box (45+1'). The Swiss goalkeeper was then alert to stop a 20-metre strike from the opening scorer (45+4'), in what proves to be the final chance of the first half, which is brought to a close with the home side in front.









Balogun keeps hope alive…

After the break, the intensity dropped slightly, although Florian Thauvin fired off a shot from the edge of the box that is gathered by Philipp Köhn (55'). The Swiss goalkeeper could do nothing moments later against the 2018 World Cup winner, who scores from close range after Köhn had first denied Malang Sarr (56'). Despite conceding the second goal, the Red and Whites refused to give up and pulled one back through Folarin Balogun with a right-footed finish (2–1, 62'). It was his third goal of the week after his brace against PSG!

The Monégasques turn everything around

The flow of the match changed completed, and from a brilliant Caio Henrique pass, Denis Zakaria - who scored last week against Nantes - netted with a powerful header that, with a little help from the crossbar, levelled the score (2–2, 70'). It was incredible - and it got even crazier when Ansu Fati, with his first touch, chipped the Blood and Gold goalkeeper to give AS Monaco the lead in the space of just 10 minutes (2–3, 72')! That’s the Spanish winger’s eighth goal of the season.

An unbelievable comeback to extend the streak

Having taken the lead, Sébastien Pocognoli’s men showed unwavering solidarity, exemplified by Lamine Camara’s crucial tackle on Rayan Fofana (80'). The Red and Whites continued to hold firm, even though Matthieu Udol’s header narrowly missed the target (93').

That was the final effort as AS Monaco triumphed in spectacular fashion at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis to make it five games unbeaten in the league (2–3). Next up is the Champions League return leg on Wednesday (21:00), where another comeback will be needed to secure qualification against PSG. DAGHE MUNEGU !!!! 🇲🇨

The highlights 🎥

3': Lens opened the scoring, Edouard with a right-footed volley (1–0)
7': Long-range shot from Thauvin saved by Köhn
21': Reflex save by Risser denied Balogun
26': Balogun beat Celik but his header went over
42': Adingra’s left-footed strike just misses the top corner
45+1': Udol fails to connect with a Saint-Maximin cross
45+4': Edouard’s 20-metre effort stopped by Köhn
55': Köhn saved Thauvin’s effort from the edge of the box56': Thauvin doubleed the lead from close range after Köhn’s initial save (2–0)
62': Balogun pulled one back with a right-footed finish (2–1)
70': Zakaria levels with a powerful header (2–2)
72': Fati chipped the keeper to give AS Monaco the lead (2–3)
80': Camara made a crucial tackle to deny Fofana
93': Udol’s header goes wide

The stat 📊

Folarin Balogun has scored his 10th goal in 23 matches across all competitions since Sébastien Pocognoli took charge of AS Monaco. Only Mason Greenwood (20) and Pavel Sulc (12) have scored more for a French club in the same period.

🗓️ The match sheet:

Saturday 21 February 2026 (17:00) – Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Ligue 1 McDonald's – Matchday 23: RC Lens 2-3 AS Monaco
Half time: 1-0
Goals: Edouard (3'), Thauvin (56') for RC Lens; Balogun (62'), Zakaria (70'), Fati (72') for AS Monaco
Yellow cards:Sima (74'), Ganiou (94') for RC Lens; Faes (92') for AS Monaco
RC Lens: Risser – Celik, Sarr, Ganiou - Abdulhamid (Aguilar, 75', Bermont, 87'), Bulatovic (Sotoca, 87'), Thomasson, Udol – Thauvin, Édouard (Sima, 63'), Saint-Maximin (Fofana, 75')
Substitutes: Gorgelin, Aguilar, Sylla, Haidara, Bermont, Masuaku, Sotoca, Sima, Fofana
Coach: Pierre Sage
AS Monaco : Köhn – Teze, Kehrer, Faes – Diatta (Bamba, 31'), D. Zakaria ©, Camara, C. Henrique – Coulibaly, Balogun (Biereth, 85'), Adingra (Fati, 69')
Substitutes: Lienard, Stawiecki, Touré, Nibombé, Bamba, Idumbo, Fati, Brunner, Biereth
Coach: Sébastien Pocognoli

See also