It is the cruelty of this 7th place in Ligue 1, which in no way guarantees European participation the following season. For RC Lens, this gave them the right to qualify for the play-off round of the UEFA Conference League, a competition for which no team qualifies for the group stage, not even the highest-ranked teams like Chelsea.
Lens will therefore have a double confrontation to win, and the Blood and Gold have not been spoiled by fate. While they could have crossed paths with Osijek or Zire, Estonian or Swedish clubs, Will Still’s men will have to challenge Ajax or Panathinaikos. A small subtlety, the Artésiens will face the loser of what is a 3rd preliminary round of the Europa League, the “parent” competition of the C4.
The first leg will take place on August 22 in Lens, and the return leg on August 29, in the Netherlands or Greece. In the event of elimination, Racing’s European adventure would already be over. Then, the group stage will offer the same 36-team format as that implemented in the Champions League this season, but with only 6 matches to play (compared to 8 in C1).
