Lens players left Nice with a draw (1-1) on Saturday and see the Ligue 1 title slip away.
Published on May 2, 2026 at 23:07
Reading time: 1 min
The evening took a bad turn for Lens. After a very tight match, Lens was held to a draw on Saturday, May 2, on the occasion of the 32nd day in Ligue 1, by a solid Nice side, especially in the first half. It wasn’t until the second half when Lens opened the scoring thanks to Allan Saint-Maximin (61st minute) from a corner. The 29-year-old forward, a former Niçois player, scored his third goal in Ligue 1, his second in two matches. But the blatant fault of the Lens defender Saud Abdulhamid, who was shown a red card (81st minute), changed the game.
Reduced to ten men, Lens lost their lead after Ali Abdi’s goal (84th minute). Lens did not take advantage of the opportunity left by Paris Saint-Germain. After their draw (2-2) against Lorient, Paris had left the door open for the Ligue 1 title. This could have benefitted Lens, who could have been three points clear at the top with a victory two days before the end of the season (three days for Lens and Paris since their match was rescheduled to May 13, at the request of Parisians, to prepare for the Champions League quarter-finals).
Instead, they only earned one point, like Paris, and are now six points behind PSG, seeing the French championship title slip away. With a seven-point lead over Lyon (3rd) and Lille (4th), Lens is still in a strong position for the Champions League race.
