RC Lens have responded to Paris Saint-Germain’s request to postpone their Ligue 1 clash with Pierre Sage’s men, to give the Parisian giants more of a rest for their Champions League showdown with Liverpool.
The fixture list is looking very busy for Arne Slot‘s men, as they head into the last few months of the 2025/26 season.
Indeed, after the international break, Liverpool are swamped with game after game in April, with six games heading their way in the space of just 21 days.
Liverpool FC: April 2026 Fixture Schedule:
| Date | Time | Opponent | Competition | Venue |
| 4th April | 12:45 KO | Manchester City | FA Cup | Etihad |
| 8th April | 20:00 KO | PSG | Champions League | Parc des Princes |
| 11th April | 17:30 KO | Fulham | Premier League | Anfield |
| 14th April | 20:00 KO | PSG | Champions League | Anfield |
| 19th April | 14:00 KO | Everton | Premier League | Hill Dickinson Stadium |
| 25th April | 15:00 KO | Crystal Palace | Premier League | Anfield |
Slot side. will just have to grin and bear it, as they try to go as far as they possibly can in both the FA Cup and Champions League, alongside their domestic action in the Premier League.
Their Champions League opponents, on the contrary, have decided to try and take matters into their own hands, with PSG requesting to postpone their upcoming league game versus RC Lens on April 11th, to ensure they are not fatigued for a second leg trip to Anfield.
The game with Lens is also very important, as Sage and Co. are only one point behind PSG in a competitive title race at the very top of Ligue 1.
Unsurprisingly, Lens has not just rolled over for their title rivals, as this would hand Enrique’s side an unfair advantage in this ongoing tussle.
Instead, they have come out with a statement, as they refuse to accept PSG’s terms.
Lens statement on PSG’s postponement attempt
After all, Lens has been the feel-good story of Ligue 1 so far this season, in a division that is so often dominated by PSG winning all the major honours.
Having not won the French top-flight since 1998, this is a great opportunity for the underdogs to pull off a monumental upset.
Therefore, it’s not the biggest shock in the world to see them be so against PSG’s idea to postpone the match-up, so they can be more refreshed for Europe’s elite competition.
The statement, which was released by Lens, reads: “On March 6, the scheduling of the match pitting Racing Club de Lens against Paris Saint-Germain was finalized, formalizing a framework to which everyone was then invited to adhere.
In a spirit of responsibility and restraint, Racing Club de Lens, from the very first requests, made it known to Paris Saint-Germain its intention not to see this date changed.
True to a certain idea of sporting stability, the club had also chosen to refrain from any public communication on this subject. However, the recent proliferation of statements, interventions, and various suggestions now leads us to break from this reserve.
It does indeed appear to us that a troubling sentiment is taking hold: that of a French championship gradually relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of the European imperatives of some.
A singular conception of sporting equity, the equivalent of which is hard to find in other major continental competitions.
Changing the date of this match would mean, for Racing Club de Lens, being deprived of competition for 15 days and then chaining matches every three days a rhythm that corresponds neither to the one defined at the start of the championship, nor to the resources of a club that could absorb this type of new constraint without consequence.
It would therefore be understood that the tenth budget in the championship should adapt to the demands of the most powerful, in the name of interests that, evidently, now extend beyond the domestic framework, which has already been lightened in recent seasons (L1 reduced to 18 clubs, discontinuation of the Coupe de la Ligue).
Beyond this particular case, the question raised is more fundamental: that of the respect due to the competition itself.
For it is permissible to wonder when, on its own soil, the championship sometimes seems relegated behind other ambitions, however legitimate they may be.
Racing Club de Lens remains committed to equity, the clarity of rules, and respect for all stakeholders. Simple principles for a loyal and respected French football.”
Going into great detail as to why they oppose the postponement, with “simple principles” of respect needing to be followed, it will be fascinating to see if PSG gets its way at the expense of Lens.
Liverpool will just prepare as normal, despite this narrative rumbling away, as Slot’s side attempt to knock out the reigning Champions League holders.
