Toulouse 0-3 Lens: Visitors extend stay at Ligue 1 summit with routine win

Lens extended their winning run in Ligue 1 to seven games as they beat Toulouse 3-0 to ensure another week in top spot.

Toulouse made a good start but the momentum quickly swung in the visitors’ favour when Emersonn was shown a straight red card, with Wesley Said, Adrien Thomasson and Ismaelo Ganiou scoring in the second half.

Rasmus Nicolaisen fired a shot on target after just 45 seconds for Toulouse, while Emersonn failed to test Robin Risser after 11 minutes as the hosts looked to be building momentum against the league leaders.

However, that all changed in the 22nd minute when Emersonn was given his marching orders after a late challenge on Odsonne Edouard near the halfway line, causing Toulouse boss Carlos Martinez to change his side’s shape.

Lens began to dominate and finally got their breakthrough in the 57th minute. Alexis Vossah could not control a pass in his own box and it fell kindly to Said, who curled past Guillaume Restes and into the far corner.

Lens looked comfortable from there on in, obtaining 71% of possession in the second half, but captain Thomasson made sure of the win in the final 10 minutes, first adding a second after reacting quickest to a rebound before teeing up Ganiou for a powerful finish at the near post in stoppage time.