Lens
Auxerre
Match summary
Lens won comfortably, 5-2 at home to Auxerre. Lens led 1-0 at half-time.
In the first half, Florian Thauvin put Lens ahead from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. In the second half, Franjo Ivanovic made it 2-0 in the 49th minute, set up by Abdallah Sima, Saud Abdulhamid made it 3-0 with a header in the 54th minute, set up by Florian Thauvin, Danny Namaso pulled one back to make it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 61st minute, Pierre Ganiou made it 4-1 in the 66th minute, set up by Michal Skóras, Lamine Sy made it 4-2 in the 69th minute, set up by Rayan Mandengue, and Thauvin made it 5-2 from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.
The chances backed that up: Lens created 5.12 expected goals (xG) from 12 shots to Auxerre's 1.71 from 10. Auxerre had a player sent off.
Lens secured a commanding 5-2 victory over Auxerre in this Ligue 1 fixture on matchday one, dominating the match statistics despite facing a significant number of opposition attacks. Lens registered 12 shots with nine on target, alongside 53 percent possession and 470 completed passes at an 88 percent accuracy rate. Their expected goals metric reached 5.12, accurately reflecting their dominance in front of goal. Auxerre mounted 109 total attacks and recorded 50 dangerous attacks, managing 10 shots and seven corners, but were ultimately undone by defensive vulnerabilities and a high foul count, committing 21 fouls compared to just six by the hosts.
The match opened with Florian Thauvin converting a penalty in the 12th minute to give Lens a 1-0 half-time lead. Auxerre were reduced to 10 men in the 35th minute when Christ Makosso received a red card for a professional foul as the last man. Early in the second half, Lens extended their lead through Franjo Ivanović in the 49th minute with a right-footed shot, followed by a header from Saud Abdulhamid in the 54th minute. Danny Namaso pulled one back for Auxerre from the penalty spot in the 61st minute. Ismaëlo Ganiou scored with a right-footed shot for Lens in the 66th minute, before Lamine Sy responded with a right-footed goal for Auxerre in the 69th minute. Finally, Thauvin secured his second penalty goal of the match in the 88th minute to seal the 5-2 final scoreline.
