Thauvin scores once more to keep Lens leading Ligue 1

Lens confirmed their position at the top of French Ligue 1 with a narrow 2-1 victory over Nantes on Saturday.

The underdog team from the north, backed by a strong local fanbase, reached the summit for the first time in over two decades last week, and they will stay there no matter the outcome of Paris Saint-Germains match with Rennes.

Paris Saint-Germain will have the return of their young talent Desire Doue, aged 20, for the evenings fixture.

Lens lead with 34 points, while Paris Saint-Germain trail on 30, and both Marseille and Lille sit on 29 following Lilles 1-0 triumph against Marseille on Friday.

Ex Marseille and Newcastle forward Florian Thauvin opened the scoring for Lens in the 34th minute, paving the way for their fifth consecutive league victory, before Wesley Said netted the decisive goal in the 81st after Nantes drew level through Youssef El-Arabi two minutes after Thauvins strike.

The 32 year old Thauvin, who lifted the World Cup with France back in 2018, has struggled for international recognition lately, having spent two years with Tigres in Mexico and then joining Lens this term following two reliable campaigns at Udinese.

Thauvin has netted five times in the league so far this season, and he marked his return to the France squad after six years by scoring when he came on for Kylian Mbappe versus Azerbaijan.

Nice, who have lost their last four games, host Angers on Sunday in a bid to halt their poor form on the field and ease the growing friction between players and fans off it.