Monaco vs Lens preview - Kombouare: Survival is everything

Posted Monday, December 01, 2014 by PA

Lens coach Antoine Kombouare believes staying up in Ligue 1 this season would be better than winning a league title.

Les Sang et Or were promoted last season and remain in the Ligue 1 relegation zone despite Saturday's 2-0 home victory over Metz - their first win in four league games.

Kombouare takes his side to Monaco on Tuesday night and insists Lens will fight to the finish to preserve their top-flight status.

"I don't know how it will end, but we will defend our end right to the finish," Kombouare told Ligue 1.com

"The lads never gave up and if we manage to stay up it will be even better than winning a league title.

"It has been a long time since I have seen my team so solid and so determined. It was a good response to those who thought we were going to give up given the current conditions."

Lens kept only their fourth clean sheet in 15 league games against Metz and goalkeeper Rudy Riou said the task now was to build on that result at the Louis II Stadium.

"We will have to try to glean something," Riou told MadeInLens.com.

"We have cause to recover well and present our best there."

Monaco are without a win in four league games and slipped to 10th following their 2-0 weekend reverse at Rennes.

The defeat came just three days after claiming a crucial Champions League victory at Bayer Leverskusen but their progress in Ligue 1 has been stifled by the absence of a consistent goalscorer.

No Monaco player has yet scored three league goals this season with Radamel Falcao - now on loan at Manchester United - Dimitar Berbatov, Valere Germain, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Joao Moutinho all on two.

But Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim pinpointed defensive mistakes at Rennes, with pacy home winger Paul-Georges Ntep setting up both home goals.

"We made two or three defensive errors that allowed Rennes to dictate the result," Jardim told Ligue 1.com.

"Knowing the opposition and with the information we gave to the players, they knew that they could not afford to make such mistakes against Rennes.

"The team were not focused enough at the start of the game and that allowed Ntep to win the match all on his own in the first half."

Monaco's situation has not been helped by the loss of Geoffrey Kondogbia, who could be out for up to two months with a thigh problem, the former Sevilla midfielder suffering the injury during the warm-up at Rennes.