Thauvins brace lifts Lens to Ligue 1 leadership for first time in 21 years
Florian Thauvin netted twice to propel Lens to the summit of the French Ligue 1 standings with a 2-1 win away to Angers on Sunday.
The result positioned Lens one point ahead of the defending French and European title holders Paris Saint-Germain, following their unexpected 1-0 defeat at Monaco on Saturday.
This marks the first occasion Lens have led Ligue 1 since August 2004.
The ex-Newcastle United underperformer Thauvin broke the deadlock for Lens right before the interval with a powerful left-footed effort that left Angers Congolese shot-stopper Melvin Zinga helpless.
Thauvin, aged 32 and a long-time Marseille player, extended the lead 17 minutes before the end via a shot that took a deflection and deceived Zinga.
However, merely three minutes after that, Harouna Djibirin offered the home side hope by converting the rebound following a superb stop by Lens custodian Robin Risser on Prosper Peter.
Lens owed their win preservation to VAR, as the video assistant referee rescinded a late spot-kick decision in favour of Angers.
This campaign has seen a impressive resurgence for Thauvin, the 2018 World Cup victor with France, who endured a six-year absence from international duty after a severe ankle issue in 2019.
He appeared sidelined during stints with Mexicos Tigres and Italys Udinese, yet his impactful performances since arriving at Lens this season secured a national team comeback in October.
The attacker even found the net on his initial France outing in six years, substituting for Kylian Mbappe versus Azerbaijan.
In other action, Moroccan talent Hamza Igamane struck the decisive goal two minutes shy of full time to boost Lille to fourth place courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over Le Havre.
Strasbourg squandered an opportunity to climb to fifth after a 2-1 home reverse against Brest, whereas bottom-feeder Lorient escaped the drop zone thanks to a 3-1 victory against faltering Nice, who suffered their sixth consecutive loss across all tournaments.