Auxerre lost 5-2 to Lens in the Ligue 1 season opener on Sunday at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Lens began their campaign with a commanding victory thanks to goals from Florian Thauvin (two penalties), Franjo Ivanović, Saud Abdulhamid and Ismaëlo Ganiou.
How did Lens take an early lead?
Lens opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Ismaëlo Ganiou finished a low cross from Kamil Skóraś past Mamadou Diop, Auxerre’s goalkeeper. Shortly after, Clément Piedfort was penalised for handball following a corner, allowing Florian Thauvin to convert the resulting penalty. Despite his first attempt being saved by Diop, who had moved off his line, the referee ordered a retake, which Thauvin scored to make it 2-0 at halftime.
What turning point shifted the match’s momentum?
In the 35th minute, Auxerre’s Christ Makosso received a straight red card for bringing down Lens’ Abdallah Sima, leaving the visitors with ten men. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Auxerre pulled one back early in the second half when Danny Namaso converted a penalty after Michaël Cuisance fouled him inside the area. Lens responded swiftly: four minutes into the second half, Franjo Ivanović made it 3-0.
How did Auxerre try to fight back?
Auxerre enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening half-hour, with Danny Namaso and Rayan Danois testing the Lens defence regularly. In the 69th minute, Lassine Sy reduced the deficit to 3-1 from a counter-attack down the left, as confirmed by manager Lasso Coulibaly: "Lasso Coulibaly's side struck again in the 69th minute when a counter-attack down the left ended with Lassine Sy arriving at the far post to convert." However, Lens sealed the win when Saud Abdulhamid’s goal, initially ruled out for offside, was overturned by VAR, making it 5-1 before Namaso’s late penalty.
Lens started their Ligue 1 campaign with three points, having previously won the Trophée des Champions over Paris Saint-Germain. Currently, Auxerre sit 17th in Ligue 1 with 0 points, 0 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss from 1 game, recent form L., and a goal difference of -3 (2 goals scored, 5 conceded). The team are four points behind league leaders Lille and prepare for their next fixture away to Lyon on 4 September 2026. Currently sidelined are Assane Dioussé, Marvin Senaya and Sekou Fofana, as listed on our injuries page. For updated league positions, visit our standings page, and see the full schedule on our fixtures page.
