PARIS (AP) — Striker Odsonne Édouard scored with a header in each half as Lens beat Nice 2-0 at home on Sunday to move back ahead of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1.
Édouard gave surprise front-runner Lens a 15th-minute lead with a brilliant glancing header from Matthieu Udol’s cross and nodded in another left-wing cross from Udol in the 57th.
It was a sixth straight French league win and ninth in 10 games for Lens.
The northern club is one point ahead of defending champion PSG after 16 rounds and five points ahead of third-placed Marseille and fourth-placed Lille, which are separated by goal difference after both won on Sunday.
Next weekend sees French Cup matches, before Ligue 1 resumes in early January.
“We’ll try to stay there as long as possible. One thing is for certain: we will be top at Christmas, which is great for all the families and the people from the region,” Lens coach Pierre Sage said. “Udol has assisted on three goals in two games. The first goal was amazing, the cross was good but the header was awesome.”
Greenwood grabs late winner
Marseille stayed third by beating Monaco 1-0 at home after Lille had won 4-3 at Auxerre earlier Sunday.
Ligue 1 top scorer Mason Greenwood notched his 11th goal for Marseille this season with a curler into the top right corner from near the penalty spot, after being well set up by midfielder Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg in the 82nd.
Lamine Camara thought he had opened the scoring for Monaco shortly after halftime with a fine shot from just outside the penalty area. But the goal was ruled out for an earlier offside from Monaco forward Folarin Balogun.
Greenwood went close with a strike midway through the second half and made no mistake with his next chance.
Although Marseille remains an inconsistent side, fans have been entertained at Stade Velodrome under attack-minded coach Roberto De Zerbi. Statistician Opta said Marseille’s 56 league goals scored in 2025 is its third highest home tally ever in a year.
The start of the match was delayed by a few minutes to clear the air after Marseille fans lit many flares in the stands.
Nice nightmare continues
it was a ninth straight defeat in all competitions for a Nice side in total disarray. The losing run is the longest in Nice’s history.
Despite considerable backing from chemicals giant Ineos, which took over six years ago, Nice is unable to find the right formula and some fans have confronted the players.
Nice is 13th in Ligue 1 and also last in the Europa League group stage after losing all six games so far.
Lille wins 7-goal thriller
A chaotic match saw four players sent off — two from each side.
Lille led early on through Iceland midfielder Hakon Haraldsson but had central defender Nathan Ngoy sent off in the 39th, then conceded an equalizer when striker Lassine Sinayoko struck in the 57th.
Three minutes later, Auxerre defender Clément Apka was shown a second yellow card and both sides had 10 men.
Auxerre went ahead in the 66th when Lille center back Chancel Mbemba scored into his own net while trying to clear the ball.
A frantic spell followed.
Midfielder Nabil Bentaleb netted with a powerful strike to make it 2-2 in the 77th and Lille went in front moments later when 18-year-old substitute Soriba Diaoune grabbed his first career goal after replacing 39-year-old veteran Olivier Giroud — France’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals.
Auxerre equalized with a penalty from Sinayoko in the 83rd, only for Lille captain Benjamin André to hit what proved to be the winner three minutes after that.
The drama was not quite over.
Lille defender Romain Perraud and Auxerre midfielder Oussama El-Azzouzi were sent off shortly after for fighting on the touchline.
Other matches
Czech midfielder Pavel Sulc’s seventh goal of the season helped Lyon beat Le Havre 1-0 and move up to fifth place.
After Lyon goalkeeper Dominik Greif saved Issa Soumaré’s penalty in the 38th minute, Sulc scored early in the second half with a diving header from Afonso Moreira’s cross.
Strasbourg snapped a run of three straight league losses but could only draw 0-0 at home to Lorient.
On Saturday, PSG showcased its flourishing youth academy in a 3-2 win at Metz. ___
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