Gessime Yassine scores twice as Strasbourg beat Lens 2-1 in Ligue 1

First-half lead and milestone penalty

RC Strasbourg Alsace recorded their first victory of the Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday, defeating RC Lens 2-1 at the Stade de la Meinau. Strasbourg entered the match after losing 4-0 at Marseille on the opening weekend, facing a Lens team that had won the French Cup and finished second in Ligue 1 last term. Lens had already collected two competitive wins, overcoming Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Trophee des Champions and beating Auxerre 5-2 in their league opener. Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser made multiple saves in the opening 25 minutes, while Strasbourg goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen stopped Lens attempts in the 18th, 21st, and 24th minutes. Lens broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when Jeyland Mitchell tripped Abdallah Sima in the penalty area. Florian Thauvin converted the spot kick for his fourth goal in three matches this season. The strike was Thauvin's 100th career goal in Ligue 1 across 294 league matches, making him the 90th player in the history of the competition to reach the century mark.

I am happy, but we do not care. What was important was to win and take the three points.

Second-half turnaround by Strasbourg

Strasbourg produced an immediate response following the halftime interval under new head coach Hugo Oliveira. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen initiated the attacking move in the 48th minute with a long clearance upfield. Winger Sebastian Nanasi gained possession and exchanged passes with midfielder Giovanni Reyna before finding Gessime Yassine on the right side. The 20-year-old Moroccan international fired a strike that took a deflection to wrong-foot Risser and level the score at 1-1. The goal rewarded Strasbourg's pressure against a rebuilt Lens backline that struggled to contain the hosts' wide attackers throughout the contest.

Disallowed effort and late winner

Strasbourg thought they had taken the lead in the 56th minute when Spanish forward Jacobo Ortega directed a close-range header into the net. A lengthy video assistant referee review ruled the goal out for offside, keeping the score level. Lens manager Dino Toppmoeller introduced midfielder Thorgan Hazard for the final 20 minutes to regain territorial control, but the home side maintained their attacking rhythm. Strasbourg secured the decisive goal in the 85th minute when Nanasi sent a cross into the penalty area and Yassine finished with a volley to complete his brace. Lens almost equalized in stoppage time, but Matthieu Udol saw his header rebound off the goalpost.

Season context and standings impact

The result gave Strasbourg their first points of the new season and marked their first win under Oliveira while ending a fan encouragement boycott at the stadium. Lens suffered their first loss of the season, missing the chance to claim first place in the Ligue 1 table. Dino Toppmoeller had made defensive adjustments due to the absence of injured defender Saud Abdulhamid and suspended defender Kyllian Antonio, starting Michal Skoras on the right and Souleymane Sagnan in central defense. Lens will play Lorient in their next league fixture before opening their UEFA Champions League campaign away against Slavia Prague. In other matchday action, Lille maintained the league lead after drawing 2-2 with Paris Saint-Germain on Friday.