RC Lens made a spectacular start to their Champions League campaign. Trailing 2-1 in the 88th minute against Slavia Prague, the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold) scored two goals in stoppage time to ultimately win 3-2 on Thursday evening in the first match of the group stage. Florian Thauvin equalized in the 91st minute before Ruben Aguilar secured the victory for Lens two minutes later. Lens thus earned three points in a match they long looked likely to lose.
This victory perfectly marks the European return of a club that had secured its qualification for the Champions League last May, after finishing second in Ligue 1.
Prague stifles Lens and thinks they've opened the scoring
The match began poorly for Dino Toppmöller's men. Slavia applied intense pressure and looked dangerous from the very first minute. Danijel Šturm capitalized on a ball played behind the Lens defense but missed his shot. The Slovenian striker continued to torment the French backline and came close to opening the scoring again in the 18th minute.
Lens gradually responded. Florian Thauvin found Abdallah Sima in a very promising position, but the former Slavia Prague player couldn't convert. In the 37th minute, Prague thought they had finally taken the lead through Emmanuel Ayaosi. However, the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for a handball during the build-up. The two teams went into the break at 0-0.
Slavia reduced to 10 men... then open the scoring
The game turned at the start of the second half. Mikuláš Konečný, who came on at halftime, stopped Sima as the Lens player raced towards goal. After a VAR review, referee Vassilis Fotias sent off the Czech defender in the 49th minute.
Lens find themselves with eleven against ten, but Slavia strike immediately. Just two minutes after the red card, Šturm unleashes a left-footed shot that beats Robin Risser. Prague lead 1-0 in the 51st minute despite being down to ten men.
Dino Toppmöller then made changes to his team. Ruben Aguilar, Odsonne Édouard, and the young Mezian Mesloub came on shortly after the hour mark. Lens established themselves more in the Czech half, but still lacked precision in the final third.
Sima puts Lens back in the game
After persistent pressure, Lens finally equalized. In the 73rd minute, Abdallah Sima found the net against his former club, bringing Lens level at 1-1.
Lens then seemed to have taken control of the match. Slavia had been playing with ten men for almost half an hour and were under more pressure, while Lens had another huge opportunity through Ismaëlo Ganiou, who found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Jan Markovič but couldn't beat him.
In the 88th minute, Lens thought they had lost everything.
As Lens pressed for a second goal, Prague struck again. From a free kick in the 88th minute, Robin Risser misjudged his run and Šturm capitalized, scoring his second goal of the match.
Slavia led 2-1 with two minutes of regulation time remaining. Reduced to ten men since the 49th minute, the Czechs thought they had secured an improbable victory. Lens, who had enjoyed a numerical advantage for almost the entire second half, found themselves on the brink of defeat.
Thauvin in the 91st minute, Aguilar in the 93rd: Lens turns everything around
The Blood and Gold, however, refused to give up. In the 91st minute, Florian Thauvin rose and headed home the equalizer. Lens were back at 2-2 and thought they could at least salvage a point.
But Lens continued to attack. Two minutes later, Ruben Aguilar, who came on in the 61st minute, unleashed a low, angled shot that beat Markovič. In the 93rd minute, Lens took the lead for the first time that evening: 3-2.
In five minutes, RC Lens transformed a defeat that seemed almost certain into a victory. Šturm had restored Slavia's lead in the 88th minute, Thauvin equalized in the 91st, and Aguilar scored the winning goal in the 93rd.
Three early points before a very busy schedule
Lens thus begins its league campaign with three points earned away from home. This victory is all the more important given the particularly challenging European schedule that awaits the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold). The draw has notably pitted them against Liverpool and Manchester City , as detailed during the 2026-2027 Champions League draw.
Following the departure of Pierre Sage and the arrival of Dino Toppmöller as Lens manager this summer, Lens has achieved one of the most spectacular results of the opening day. In their first European match of the season, the Artois club were trailing in the 90th minute. Three minutes later, they left Prague with a victory.
