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Friendly roundup: Lens, Monaco and Nice impress as pre-season gathers pace

RC Lens, AS Monaco, OGC Nice and Paris FC all opened their summer schedules with victories, while Olympique Lyonnais experienced mixed fortunes during another busy weekend of pre-season action across French football.
G.BOXALL
Published on 07/20/2026 at 08:00
3-minute read
RC Lens, AS Monaco, OGC Nice and Paris FC all opened their summer schedules with victories, while Olympique Lyonnais experienced mixed fortunes during another busy weekend of pre-season action across French football.

Preparations for the 2026-27 Ligue 1 McDonald's season continued over the weekend as clubs across the division stepped up their summer schedules with another round of friendly fixtures.

RC Lens were among the most convincing winners, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Ligue 2 BKT side US Boulogne. Thauvin found the net on his first outing of pre-season, while Mesloub struck twice before Sotoca added a fourth to complete an impressive attacking display.

AS Monaco also made a strong start, defeating National side AS Saint-Priest 5-2. Dier opened his account for the summer, Golovin added another and Brunner bagged a brace as the Principality club got their preparations underway in style.

OGC Nice were equally comfortable in a 4-0 win over Nîmes Olympique. Jansson, Z. Diallo, Diop and Orakpo all got on the scoresheet as Les Aiglons enjoyed a convincing first outing. Paris FC also made a winning start to pre-season, edging Stade de Reims 1-0 thanks to new recuit Pablo Pagis's decisive goal.

Mixed fortunes for Lyon as Rennes bounce back

LOSC Lille began their preparations with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Belgian outfit RAAL La Louvière. Diaoune, Perrin and Cossier all scored as the Mastiffs opened their summer schedule with a clean sheet.

Elsewhere, Franck Haise's Stade Rennais bounced back from their opening friendly defeat by overcoming EA Guingamp 3-1. Soumaré, Esteban Lepaul and Djaoui Cissé were all on target for the Rouge et Noir.

FC Lorient maintained their perfect start to pre-season with a 1-0 victory over FC Nantes. After defeating US Concarneau in their opening fixture, Le Bris's strike secured a second successive win for Les Merlus.

AJ Auxerre also enjoyed a productive afternoon, beating Lusitanos Saint-Maur 5-2. Bair scored twice, while Zossou, Wei and Dioubaté also found the net in an entertaining contest.

Olympique Lyonnais experienced contrasting results across two fixtures. Tolisso's brace secured a 2-1 victory over Servette on Wednesday before Les Gones were beaten 2-0 by Slavia Prague on Saturday.

Stade Brestois were held to a 2-2 draw by US Concarneau despite Ajorque getting on the scoresheet, while Le Mans suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Vendée FC La Roche-sur-Yon.

Attention now turns to another busy week of preparations, with RC Strasbourg Alsace opening their summer schedule against Sporting CP on Monday before several Ligue 1 clubs return to action later in the week.

Results (17-20 July)

  • Stade Rennais 3-1 EA Guingamp – I. Soumaré, Lepaul, D. Cissé
  • AJ Auxerre 5-2 Lusitanos Saint-Maur – Bair (2), Zossou, Wei, Dioubaté
  • Stade Brestois 29 2-2 US Concarneau – Ajorque
  • Le Mans FC 2-3 Vendée FC La Roche-sur-Yon – Gueye, Mafouta
  • RC Lens 4-1 US Boulogne CO – Thauvin, Mesloub (2), Sotoca
  • LOSC Lille 3-0 RAAL La Louvière – Diaoune, Perrin, Cossier
  • FC Lorient 1-0 FC Nantes – Le Bris
  • Olympique Lyonnais 0-2 Slavia Prague
  • AS Monaco 5-2 AS Saint-Priest – Dier, Golovin, Brunner (2), own goal
  • OGC Nice 4-0 Nîmes Olympique – Jansson, Z. Diallo, Diop, Orakpo
  • Paris FC 1-0 Stade de Reims – Pagis

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