Paris lose by the narrowest of margins at Lens
Men's football•
In a match that came down to the finer details, Paris Saint-Germain lost to Lens 1–0 on Sunday evening in the 2026 Trophée des Champions. A look back at the match.
Just a few days after lifting their first trophy of the season in the UEFA Super Cup in Austria, Paris Saint-Germain were back in action for another challenge: the Trophée des Champions. The Rouge et Bleu faced a tough task, as their opponents were none other than RC Lens… at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis. But the Parisians were keen to rise to the occasion, as shown by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who put Robin Risser under pressure very early on (8'). True to their principles, Luis Enrique’s men imposed their style of play, forcing Lens to defend deep in their own half.
But on their first chance of the match, the Sang & Or were clinical, as Florian Thauvin capitalised on Matthieu Udol’s wayward shot to pounce at the far post and open the scoring against the run of play (1–0, 32'). This was the first turning point of the game, followed by a second a few minutes later when Kyllian Antonio was shown a red card following a violent tackle on Maghnes Akliouche (39'). With a man advantage, the Rouge et Bleu came close to equalising, but Désiré Doué’s effort from a tight angle crashed against the bar (45’+3).
After the break, the capital club struggled to break down Lens’s solid defence. It wasn’t until the hour mark, when fresh legs came on from the bench, that they found a spark, with Nuno Mendes leading the Parisian charge (61', 62'). Next it was Ousmane Dembélé’s turn, but the opposition goalkeeper was on hand to save (73'). The Parisian No. 10 kept pressing, but saw his volley fly wide of the target (80'). The minutes ticked by, and Paris couldn’t find a way to level.
Lacking rhythm, Luis Enrique’s players were facing a well-organised northern side. The home team even thought they had doubled their lead, but Michal Skóras missed the target from just a few metres out from Matvey Safonov’s goal (86'). In a chaotic finale, Nuno Mendes was in turn shown a red card for a reckless challenge (87'). The task became even more difficult for Paris, who were unable to turn the tide. At the end of a tight second half, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a narrow defeat at Bollaert.
The Rouge et Bleu will now turn their attention to the start of the league season, with a home match against Stade Rennais FC on 23 August. The match will take place at the Parc des Princes, with kick-off at 8:45 pm. It will be an opportunity for the Parisians to bounce back straight away and return to winning ways.
