Lens held by Nice on the road
Allan Saint-Maximin scored for the third match in a row but it wasn't enough for Lens to win away to OGC Nice, who pulled a goal back after the visitors had a man sent off to earn a valuable point.
Shorthanded Nice are under the cosh
After a shock win for Nantes earlier in the day, OGC Nice were under no small amount of pressure as they hosted second place RC Lens, who themselves would be looking to take advantage of leaders Paris Saint-Germain's draw against Lorient. While Le Sang et Or played a first-choice eleven, including Allan Saint-Maximin, the situation was rather different for Claude Puel's side, who were without form striker Elye Wahi, and veteran wingback Jonathan Clauss.
From the off, Lens looked well up for the occasion, and had the match's first big chance after just four minutes, with Odsonne Édouard missing with a shot on the turn. With both sides doing their best to get stuck in, chances weren't exactly flowing, but Nice nearly took the lead on 17' as Juma Bah's header from a corner was just tipped over by Robin Risser. On 22', Lens responded, but Mamadou Sangaré bent in a shot, which flashed just wide of the far post. From there, the flashpoint of the first half involved Lens defender Malang Sarr, who was facing his old club. In a nervy moment, he could have been sent off (36') having already been booked, but the referee seemed to miss his fouling a Nice player, and the match reached the break scoreless.
Allan Saint-Maximin in his last 4 matches ⚡️
🅰️ Toulouse
⚽️ Toulouse
⚽️ Brest
⚽️ Nice pic.twitter.com/QfEH8rCuh2— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) May 2, 2026
Saint-Maximin makes the difference, but nice strike back
The second half was just as chippy and lacking rhythm as the first, but a goal would come just before the hour, with in-form Allan Saint-Maximin taking advantage of Yehvann Diouf's having strayed from his line. The veteran striker scored against his former side with a perfectly-placed shot into the bottom corner, giving Le Sang et Or the lead and keeping their hopes of catch Paris Saint-Germain atop the league alive. Ten minutes later, Lens were close again, as an effort from Florian Thauvin clipped the top of the crossbar (71').
Both teams made changes as they sought to change the scoreline, with Nice gaining the upper hand, but the hosts were failing to find the back of the net, despite Saud Abdulhamid being sent off for Lens (80'). Four minutes later, however, it was Ali Abdi who played the hero, hammering home after the resulting free kick was spilled (84').
Nice will still sweat the result of Auxerre's match tomorrow against Angers, with the Burgundians retaining a chance of catching them up next weekend. As for Lens, they are now what looks an insurmountable points back of Paris Saint-Germain, even with an encounter against the capital side still to come following next Friday's home match against FC Nantes.
