Cahuzac sacked after six Ligue 1 matches, worst record for Lens since 21st century

Yannick Cahuzac could not survive the crisis gripping Racing Club de Lens. On Monday evening, after just nine matches across all competitions in charge of the Sang et Or, the club announced his dismissal. In Ligue 1, his record stands at six matches — a record for brevity at the club in the 21st century.

This figure places Cahuzac in a very exclusive circle. Before him, only three managers had overseen fewer Ligue 1 matches than Raymond Domenech this century: Guy Roux and Dino Toppmöller, tied with four matches, and Marcelino, who lasted five matches on the OM bench. Cahuzac thus surpasses Domenech, who had played seven matches with FC Nantes between December 2020 and February 2021 without recording a single victory.

On a purely statistical basis in the league, the former midfielder had not performed poorly: three victories, including notable wins against Lyon and Paris FC, against three defeats to Monaco, Lille and Marseille. But it was precisely this last setback, conceded on Sunday at home against Marseille (1-2), combined with the humiliation suffered four days earlier at Como in the UEFA Champions League (1-9), that sealed his fate.

The list of brief tenures in Ligue 1 is long. Fabio Grosso was also removed from OL after seven matches. Jorge Sampaoli did not exceed eight matches at Rennes during his return to France. Vahid Halilhodzic at Nantes and Sylvinho at Lyon both stopped at nine matches each.

For Lens, this is the second managerial change since the start of the season. The northern club, which had already been forced to part with a first manager in August, now faces the urgent task of finding a successor capable of stabilizing a squad lacking direction.