Lens beat PFC in Ligue 1 matchday impacted by social unrest

Paris FC missed the opportunity to go top of Ligue 1 as they went down 2-1 at Lens on Saturday in a matchday heavily impacted by the protests taking place across France.

Florian Thauvin and Thorgan Hazard scored in the final 30 minutes as last season’s French Cup winners came from behind to beat Paris FC.

The result condemned PFC to remaining joint on 14 points with five other clubs at the top of the table.

Lens now sit just one point behind them in sixth place.

Luca Koleosho opened the scoring two minutes into first-half stoppage time at the end of a crisp counter-attack.

The 22-year-old picked the ball up on the left flank near the Paris FC area, before driving up the pitch and exchanging a one-two with Lassine Sinayoko and finishing crisply from the edge of the box.

PFC thought they had a numerical advantage to go with their one on the scoreboard early in the second half when Lens defender Jean-Clair Todibo was given his marching orders for a challenge on Ilan Kebbal.

But VAR intervened to find the PFC attacker was offside earlier in the action and Todibo returned to complete Lens’ complement.

Thauvin, a 2018 World Cup winner with France, showed his pedigree just after the hour as he drove in on his left foot and fired home from 22 yards.

The 33-year-old combined with Hazard as the Belgian netted the winner for Lens with a left-footed strike inside the box on 83 minutes.

It was the sole Ligue 1 match of the day after champions Paris Saint-Germain had their home meeting with Lyon pushed back to Monday.

The postponement of the PSG game on Friday came after a decision was taken earlier in the week to postpone another French top-flight football game, in the south-western city of Toulouse between the home team and Troyes, from Saturday to Sunday.

Games in France’s second-tier Ligue 2 have also been moved this weekend on the request of police.

Police deployed resources elsewhere as French authorities braced for another weekend of protests in the capital and across the country after some of the worst urban violence in years erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago.

The trouble broke out on the fringe of nationwide protests over the rising cost of living. Since then, authorities have ordered partial curfews in parts of Paris and other cities to prevent further violence.

Lille visit Monaco, Marseille host Le Havre and Rennes welcome Strasbourg, alongside three other fixtures, in a jam-packed Sunday.

Second-placed PSG then take on league leaders Lyon on Monday, with a winner likely to go outright top.

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