Lens thrash Lille in derby downpour
RC Lens recorded their biggest derby win in forty years on Saturday at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, beating rivals LOSC Lille 3-0 on a rain-soaked evening.
Lille live dangerously
As the adage goes, when it comes to derbies, the form book goes out the window. And so it was in a torrential downpour in Lens that LOSC Lille, who had three wins and a draw from their first four Ligue 1 McDonald's matches, found themselves on the short end of the first of the season's two Derby du Nord clashes. The absences of captain Benjamin André and defender Alexsandro were no doubt keenly felt by the visitors -- as was the premature exit of left back Romain Perraud, but this was well and truly a night for Le Sang et Or to impress in front of a fervent home crowd.
Indeed, Lens had the bit between their teeth from the off, and thought they'd opened the scoring through Wesley Saïd just four minutes into the match, but the linesman's flag kept the score level. Lille would pull themselves back into the game, and were only denied by a stunning save from Robin Risser (22') but it would be Lens who break the deadlock. After being denied by the offside flag, it was Saïd who opened the scoring, getting the last touch on a corner.
Florian Thauvin. Aura. ✨ pic.twitter.com/yk0Hq3f9Ot
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 20, 2025
Fofana seals the result
If Saïd's effort had something of the rub of the green about it, there was nothing lucky about Florian Thauvin's strike to double the lead just before the break. The veteran forward pounced after a Lille corner, putting a spectacular left-footed effort into the opposite corner. After the break, it was more of the same, as youngster Rayan Fofana latched onto a cross that Lille 'keeper Berke Özer had flapped at, scoring for the second time in four matches.
From there, the result was academic, as -- despite making some changes -- Lille never looked like troubling the hosts, with missed chances by Thauvin and substitute Morgan Guilavogui the only moments of which to speak. With the result, Lens have won three of four and climb into a provisional fourth ahead of next weekend's trip to Rennes, while Lille will have to gather themselves before welcoming Norwegian side Brann in the Europa League on Thursday.
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