Reims struggle to arrest the slide as relegation fears heighten | OneFootball

A side that were European contenders heading into the international break last November may not even be in Ligue 1 by the end of the season.

Such is the turn of events for Stade de Reims, who are currently just five points above the relegation zone and three ahead of AS Saint-Étienne, who are in the relegation playoff spot.

The Champagne club are on a 12-match Ligue 1 winless run, the longest current stretch without a victory among all sides in the top five European leagues.

Should they fall into Ligue 2 by the end of the season, it may go down as one of the biggest collapses in the French top flight in recent memory.

After 11 matchdays this season, Reims were seventh in the table, with Luka Elsner losing just one of his first seven league encounters as their head coach.

Things took a turn for the Slovenian, who was sacked in early February following his team’s 2-1 defeat versus FC Nantes. That was the ninth successive match that Elsner had failed to win for Reims in the top flight.

His replacement, Samba Diawara, hasn’t been able to steer them back on course, losing his three league games in charge this year. This team, which boasts the league’s top chance creator in Junya Ito have dried up in the attacking third, failing to score in their last three domestic affairs. The Japanese international leads Ligue 1 in chances created (48) and expected assists (7.9).

They did lose perhaps their most versatile player in the winter transfer window, though, when Marshall Munestsi (28) signed with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. His leadership seems to have been sorely missed, with this team in a tailspin and lacking inspiration at the moment.

Les rouges et blancs have been in the top-flight since the 2018-19 campaign, making the UEFA Europa League qualifiers thanks to a sixth-place finish in the 2019-20  Ligue 1 season.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre