Yannick Cahuzac appointed interim as Lens cope with Dino Toppmöller’s departure after six games
Yannick Cahuzac sat in the Lens dugout at the Stade Louis II on Friday night as interim manager in the club’s match against Monaco, having been named interim boss three days earlier after Dino Toppmöller left the club last week following just six games in charge.
Pierre Sage departed Lens for Crystal Palace after guiding the club to a maiden Coupe de France triumph and a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, and Lens’ sporting director Jean-Louis Leca had warned in the summer that the club were “not a Champions League club” and that an eighth-place finish would represent success. Toppmöller’s brief reign began with the Trophée des Champions win over PSG, a 5-2 opening Ligue 1 victory at Auxerre and a first Champions League victory away to Slavia Prague, but results had dipped in recent weeks before his exit.
Cahuzac returned to Lens after leaving Lorient at the end of last season, where he had been Olivier Pantaloni’s assistant, and he had previously finished his playing career at Lens and worked as Franck Haise’s assistant in the 2022–23 campaign. He had been spoken about as a potential future head coach but, having not yet obtained his coaching qualifications, he rejoined this summer as an assistant to Toppmöller before being elevated to interim manager.
Chief executive Benjamin Parrot said there had been fractures within the backroom staff, adding: “Even before the Trophée des Champions, we felt, within the staff, that there was a French group and then a more international group.” The German manager had brought two assistants with him; Lens attempted to sack one, Nelson Morgado, but Toppmöller refused to accept that dismissal and subsequently left the club, with Cahuzac stepping up.
Leca addressed perceptions of a conflict of interest by noting his personal relationship with Cahuzac, saying: “Yes, he is my friend, but inside these walls he isn’t my friend. Inside these walls, I am his line manager.” Cahuzac had been touted as Toppmöller’s successor before he had fully settled at the club.
Cahuzac’s first match in charge did not go to plan: Monaco led 1-0 at half-time and had the ball in the Lens net on three occasions, all ruled out by the assistant referee’s flag. Cahuzac changed tactics at the interval and Matthieu Udol headed an equaliser, with Franjo Ivanovic and Thorgan Hazard creating further chances, but Jonathan Gradit later scored an own goal and Lens lost 2-1.
Outside of Lens, Liam Rosenior led Paris FC to a 2-1 win over Strasbourg and celebrated in front of the travelling Strasbourg fans after saying the crowd’s chants about his family had gone “too far”; Rosenior added that “celebrating like that was clearly a message” and an unsavoury confrontation followed. In Marseille, PSG beat them 2-1 in the Classique — Ferran Torres, on as a substitute, scored the opening goal and Marquinhos made amends for his own goal in the fixture last season, while Angel Gomes netted Marseille’s equaliser; Bruno Génésio’s side have lost four of their first five league matches and go into the international break in the relegation zone. Lyon rotated after their midweek Europa League win over Anderlecht and recorded a 4-0 victory over Rennes, with Rennes’ striker Esteban Lepaul not involved from the start.
Cahuzac, the club’s interim manager, now leads Lens following Toppmöller’s swift exit and will be in charge for the club’s immediate fixtures while the club addresses the staff divisions Parrot described.