On a wet and windy evening, neither side was able to get a good grip on the game in the opening few minutes. Lens dominated possession, while Rosenior’s side remained a threat on the break.
Obed Nkambadio looked nervy in the Paris FC goal, but Lens were unable to take advantage of an early miscommunication with his defenders and a poor pass that nearly saw Franjo Ivanovic go one-on-one with the shot stopper.
Once the initial chaos settled, a Florian Thauvin free-kick appeared to hit the hand of Diego Coppola as he went up and challenged for it. Yet, after being sent to the monitor by the VAR, referee Mathieu Vernice determined the contact wasn’t sufficient to award a penalty.
Lens managed to put that disappointment behind them with Florian Sotoca forcing Nkambadio into a fantastic save from a flying header shortly after.
However, the Blood and Gold were caught cold with the half’s first shot on target, which came in the second minute of stoppage time from Luca Koleosho, who ran onto a pass from Lassine Sinayoko and slotted beyond Robin Risser into the bottom left corner for his first goal of the season.
Lens were handed a huge let-off almost immediately after the restart, with Jean-Clair Todibo initially shown a red card for bringing Ilan Kabbal down as the last man. This time, however, VAR sided with Lens and chalked it off for a marginal offside.
Kabbal should have then doubled Paris FC’s lead, but he was unable to get on the end of Emmanuel Mbemba’s low cross and sent his eventual effort well over the Lens crossbar.
Rosenior’s side were left to rue that missed chance after Thauvin capped his 300th Ligue 1 appearance with a fine goal, cutting inside from the right wing and beating Nkambadio with a perfectly placed shot to level things up.
Buoyed by Thauvin’s equaliser, Lens continued to pile the pressure on Les Bleus.
Finally, all that possession resulted in a goal, with Thauvin once again involved. Lens’ star man found Thorgan Hazard with a brilliant cross into the Paris box, allowing the Belgian to take a touch on his chest and finish with his left foot to secure all three points for Yannick Cahuzac’s side.
Lens' fifth successive head-to-head win lifts them into sixth, just a point behind Paris, who were beaten for just the second time this season in Ligue 1.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florian Thauvin (Lens)
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