Florian Thauvin’s goal in the first half gave Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 victory in the French Champions’ championship on Sunday, denying Ten-man Lens a second championship in five days.
In addition to winning the French Cup in May under former manager Pierre Sage, Lens were deserving victors in their first game under new coach Dino Toppmoeller.
Despite having Kyllian Antonio sent off in the first half, PSG, who defeated Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, had trouble finding their rhythm at Lens’ Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Luis Enrique, the coach of PSG, argued, “I think we deserved more.”
“However, I must congratulate Lens on their victory; they performed admirably and with their typical ferocity.
In a week, Paris will focus on the beginning of their Ligue 1 title defense at home against Rennes.
Nuno Mendes, a defender for Portugal, was also disqualified late in the game, so they will be without him.
Lens, which finished second in Ligue 1 previous season behind PSG, earned a spot in this game by defeating Nice 3-1 in the final to win their first-ever French Cup.
With just three changes to the Super Cup-winning squad, including making Lucas Digne’s second debut after the French left-back returned from Villa, Luis Enrique assembled a formidable squad.
Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser made a straightforward save from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the visitors controlled possession in the early going but were unable to produce clear-cut opportunities.
Growing into the match, Lens took the lead in the 32nd minute when PSG failed to clear before Matthieu Udol’s cross found Thauvin’s back post.
However, Antonio’s dismissal for a studs-up tackle on Maghnes Akliouche six minutes before halftime delivered Toppmoeller’s team a serious blow.
Before halftime, PSG nearly capitalized on their man advantage, but Desire Doue’s shot from a close angle missed the crossbar.
However, the European champions were still struggling after the restart, and Lens was still posing a threat on the counter when Thauvin flashed a shot wide.
Mendes, a PSG substitute, nearly equalized with a dipping long-range attempt that just missed the crossbar.
Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz were also substituted by Luis Enrique; Dembele made another easy stop from Risser.
With three minutes left, Mendes received a straight red card for elbowing Lens wing-back Michal Skoras in the face off the ball, reducing PSG to just ten players.
