LENS, France (Reuters) – Clinical RC Lens beat Strasbourg 2-1 to provisionally cut Paris St Germain’s once double-digit lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to three points on Friday and open up the title race.
Lens are second on 63 points, three ahead of third-placed Olympique Marseille, who travel to Lorient on Sunday. Strasbourg remain in 16th on 26 points.
Wing back Przemyslaw Frankowsk opened the scoring for Lens in the 10th minute, calmly slotting his effort into the bottom corner past Strasbourg keeper Matz Sels following Adrien Thomasson’s cutback.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after an anxious wait for a VAR check, a huge roar erupted at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis when it was given.
Lens kept up the pressure as they looked to put the game to bed, but a string of saves from Sels ensured the hosts were not out of sight by halftime.
Argentine defender Facundo Medina then made it 2-0 in the 64th minute, connecting sweetly with a volley when the ball dropped to him on the edge of the area.
Strasbourg’s Kevin Gameiro pulled one back with a glorious curler in the 84th minute, but Lens held on for victory.
Lens can further improve their prospects of winning a second French top-flight title when they face leaders PSG next week, after the defending champions’ trip to Nice on Saturday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
