Lens respond with 'worrying' statement after PSG request fixture change ahead of Liverpool clash

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Paris Saint-Germain wanted breathing space before their Champions League meetings with Liverpool, but they have been met with resistance.RC Lens have gone public with a strongly-worded statement after PSG sought to postpone their Ligue 1 meeting, a fixture that currently sits between the two Champions League quarter-final legs against the Reds. Just how bad do you want Arne Slot gone? 😬 Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images And Lens have made it clear they do not want to move the game, arguing that Ligue 1 should not be treated as a convenient “variable” to suit the European ambitions of the country’s biggest club.

But Lens’ response cuts to the heart of the issue: why should a title rival accept disruption, loss of rhythm and a more compressed schedule just to make life easier for the league leaders?Lens full statement on PSG requesting fixture changeUsing their official X/Twitter account, they wrote: “Press Release from Racing Club de Lens: On March 6th, the schedule for the match between Racing Club de Lens and Paris Saint-Germain was finalized, officially establishing a framework to which everyone was expected to adhere. In a spirit of responsibility and restraint, Racing Club de Lens informed Paris Saint-Germain, from the outset, of its intention not to have this date changed.

Changing the date of this match today would mean that Racing Club de Lens would be deprived of competition for 15 days, followed by matches every three days—a schedule that corresponds neither to the one established at the start of the season, nor to the resources of a club that could absorb this type of new constraint without consequence.“It would therefore seem that the tenth-largest budget in the league would have to adapt to the demands of the most powerful clubs, in the name of interests that clearly now extend beyond the domestic sphere, which has already been streamlined in recent seasons (Ligue 1 reduced to 18 clubs, discontinuation of the Coupe de la Ligue). But in knockout football, margins matter, and schedule pressure is one of them.There is also a mental side to this.Instead of enjoying a smooth build-up to Champions League meetings, PSG are dealing with an increasingly public club-versus-club dispute.