Lens Defeats Paris

Lens turned the tables on their Parisian opponents when they converted a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory yesterday, in the opening match of the eighth round of the French league. Lens owed their win to captain Florian Thauvin, who equalized in the 63rd minute with a precise left-footed strike in his 300th top-flight appearance, and then set up the winning goal for Belgian international Thorgan Hazard, brother of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and former Real Madrid star, in the 83rd minute. Paris Saint-Germain had taken the lead earlier through Italian striker Luca Koleosho in stoppage time of the first half (45+2), a surprising start to the season for the capital club. This was Thauvin’s fourth goal and his eighth decisive assist this season in the league. Lens moved up to sixth place with 13 points, temporarily just one point behind the top five, including Paris Saint-Germain, who suffered their second loss of the season and missed the chance to go top alone. The marquee clash between defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, originally scheduled for yesterday, was postponed to today at the request of the police prefecture due to protests in Paris, marking the fourth rescheduling of matches over the weekend in both the first and second divisions. French authorities are preparing for a new wave of protests in Paris and across the country, following one of the worst episodes of urban violence in recent years, which coincided with demonstrations that erupted two weeks ago.