PARIS: Strasbourg battled back from a goal down to beat RC Lens 2-1 in Ligue 1 on Saturday, giving new coach Hugo Oliveira his first win in charge.
Florian Thauvin’s 100th Ligue 1 goal put Dino Toppmoller’s Lens on track for a third straight win in all competitions this season.
But 20-year-old Moroccan international Gessime Yassine scored his first two goals for Strasbourg as they bounced back from an opening 4-0 hammering at Olympique de Marseille last weekend.
“We managed our emotions better than we did in Marseille,” Oliveira said. “We won by sticking to our game plan.”
Lens were awarded a penalty 10 minutes before half-time for a foul by Jeyland Mitchell on Abdallah Sima.
Thauvin stepped up to slot the ball into the corner and complete his century of goals in the French top flight, continuing his excellent start to the season after scoring a double against Auxerre last weekend and also netting the winner in the Champions’ Trophy against Paris St-Germain.
But the hosts levelled less than three minutes into the second half as Yassine opened his account with a deflected shot after being picked out by Sebastian Nanasi.
They thought they had completed the turnaround in the 56th minute, but Jacobo Ortega’s close-range header was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review for offside.
Oliveira’s men did take the lead with five minutes remaining, though, as Yassine volleyed home Nanasi’s cross at the back post to spark wild celebrations.
Lens almost snatched an immediate equaliser, but Matthieu Udol’s header came crashing back off the post.
“You have to capitalise on your periods of dominance, and unfortunately, we didn’t do that enough,” said Toppmoller.
German Toppmoller replaced Pierre Sage, who departed for Crystal Palace after leading Lens to a second-placed finish last season.
Meanwhile, Lois Openda scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Olympique Lyonnais with an 87th-minute strike to rescue his new club a 1-1 home draw with Le Havre.
The Belgian international, who missed out on selection for their World Cup squad after a disappointing season at Juventus, is back in France for the first time since a prolific season with Lens in 2022/23.
Elsewhere, Ludovic Ajorque scored an injury-time equaliser to salvage Brest a 2-2 draw with Toulouse, while promoted Troyes won at Lorient.
Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026
