Chapter 89 – Lens II
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The corner came fast.
Too fast.
It was whipped in near post.
Bodies collided.
An uncontrolled flick and the ball bounced awkwardly inside the six-yard box.
It was chaos.
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A Marseille defender swung and missed.
The ball dropped again to Sotoca.
Florian Sotoca didn't think, didn't hesitate.
He struck it first time.
Low, through bodies.
Kweku saw it late.
Very late.
Too many legs.
Too many shadows.
Then again — A hand.
Pau López.
Not clean this time but enough to keep it out.
The ball spilled loose but still alive.
Another Lens player lunged—
blocked.
Bodies thrown.
Finally—
clearance.
Far.
High.
Ugly.
But gone.
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"INCREDIBLE! Marseille survive again—somehow it stays 0–0!"
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Kweku bent forward slightly.
Hands on knees.
That should be 1–0.
Silence Inside the Noise
Minute 14.
The game didn't slow.
But something changed.
Marseille dropped deeper.
Closer.
Tighter.
Kweku stayed higher.
Alone.
Waiting.
Not for the ball.
For something else.
A mistake.
A moment
His Chance.
Minute 19.
And it came.
Unexpected.
Unplanned.
A clearance from deep.
Not precise.
Not controlled.
But it bounced.
Once.
Twice.
Between two Lens defenders.
Kweku reacted first.
He moved before they did.
Sharp.
Immediate.
He reached the ball just ahead of Kevin Danso.
One touch forward.
Now space.
Real space.
For the first time.
The crowd noise shifted.
He pushed the ball ahead again.
Accelerating.
Frankowski chasing.
Closing fast.
Kweku glanced up.
Goal
Distance.
Angle.
He could shoot.
He knew it.
But one more touch.
Just to set it perfectly.
He pushed it slightly wider.
And that was enough.
Danso recovered.
Just enough.
Shoulder.
Contact.
Shot rushed.
Kweku struck it anyway.
Low.
Weak.
Saved easily.
No danger.
The chance was gone.
"Big moment for Mensah—but he couldn't take it!"
He didn't react.
Didn't show it.
But inside he was beating himself up.
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Lens came again after that.
Not as chaotic.
More controlled.
ut the damage had been done.
Not on the scoreboard, in the feeling, the belief.
They knew Marseille could break.
Marseille knew Lens could score.
Balance had been created albeit fragile.
Halftime came like a release.
0–0.
But it didn't feel equal.
Two chances, one at each end.
One nearly taken.
One nearly punished.
And in games like this, that was everything.
The tunnel felt tighter this time.
Not just smaller but also heavier.
Kweku walked through it with the same thought looping in his mind.
Too slow.
But this time it didn't stay regret.
It changed to belief.
"Next one… no hesitation", he thought to himself.
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The roar hit them again as they stepped back onto the pitch at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Louder now, more urgent because the game had shifted.
Minute 50.
Lens came fast.
A switch of play.
Quick.
Sharp.
Przemysław Frankowski whipped in an early cross.
Elye Wahi attacked it. Header —Saved.
Pau López again.
"López is keeping Marseille alive! That's a huge stop!"
Lopez clapped once.
"Sharp stay focused."
We're still in it.
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Minute 58, this—this was where it changed.
Kondogbia won it again.
But instead of slowing he released it early to Kweku who turned instantly.
No extra touch, no hesitation.
A defender stepped but it was already too late.
He drove forward.
Direct.
Another defender closed.
Kweku feinted right then cut left.
Space opened , just enough to run.
From the right.
Explosive.
He saw it.
Didn't think and slipped it through.
Perfect weight to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Clean through. With taking a touch he shot —
GOAL.
1–0.
Silence, then shock, then noise.
"MARSEILLE LEAD! Aubameyang finishes—but it's all about Mensah!"
Kweku didn't celebrate wildly. He pointed straight at Aubameyang then nodded once.
After conceding Lens respond with full force.
The reaction came immediately.
Lens pushed higher, wave after wave.
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Crosses.
Shots.
Second balls.
Everything, but they just couldn't penetrate.
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Minute 72.
Wahi again.
Through on goal from a tight angle —Saved.
López again.
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"Unbelievable goalkeeping! Pau López is the difference tonight".
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Kweku tracked back. Deeper this time, they wanted to see this one out.
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Minute 81.
Another chance for Marseille.
Lens threw numbers forward.
Too many
The ball broke loose in the midfield.
Kweku saw it first.
He charged at it and won it cleanly.
With more than half of Lens's players in Marseille's half, he had space to run.Real space.
He drove forward. Fast, relentless.
One defender chasing, another cutting across.
Kweku slowed slightly to draw them in.
Then suddenly burst between them. In seconds, he was gone.
Now it was just him and the keeper.
The same situation he'd been in before and the same decision to make.
But not the same player.
No extra touch, he struck it early.
Low.
Across goal.
The sound of the ball striking the net reached his ears as he turned away.
2–0.
The away end erupted.
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"MENSAH! THAT IS BRILLIANT! COMPOSURE, POWER, PRECISION—HE'S WON IT FOR MARSEILLE!"
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Kweku didn't run to the crowd.
He stood still for just a second. Exhaled with a big smile on his face
That's the one.
Lens didn't stop but it was over from then, the Marseille players were at their peak and held on till the final whistle.
2–0.
Marseille players collapsed into each other.
Exhausted yet relieved.
Kweku walked slowly.
Breathing heavy with a satisfied smile on his face.
One hesitation almost cost them.
But one decision made without fear would help send Marseille to Europe.