Lens Perfect, First Wins for Nantes and Strasbourg

Lens secured their second consecutive victory in the French Ligue 1, defeating Brest 2-0 at home in the second round on Sunday. The goals were scored by Ecuadorian Johanier Chavez (19th minute) and Julian Le Cardinal (45th minute, own goal).

The match also saw the red carding of Lens’ Colombian player Deiver Machado in the 88th minute.

Brest, last season’s surprise third-place finisher, suffered their second consecutive defeat after falling 5-1 to Marseille in the previous round. Lens reached six points with their second straight win, following a 1-0 away victory over Angers in the opening round.

Nantes claimed their first win in the league, defeating a depleted Auxerre side, who were down to ten men after Japanese player Do Ounayo was sent off in the 54th minute. Nigerian Moses Simon (14th minute) and Baheriba Gerassi (90+6th minute) scored for Nantes, bringing their points tally to four.

Strasbourg followed suit, securing their first win with a 3-1 victory over Rennes. Brazilian Andre Santos (23rd minute), Dutchman Emmanuel Emega (48th minute), and Cameroonian Christopher Wooh (87th minute, own goal) scored for Strasbourg, while Ludovic Blas netted Rennes’ lone goal (57th minute).

Nice and Toulouse drew 1-1, with Nice’s new signing from Marseille Jonathan Clauss (53rd minute) and Toulouse’s Gabonese player Xavi Papika (73rd minute) scoring.

Later, Marseille will face Reims to close out the round.

The round opened with Paris Saint-Germain’s 6-0 win over Montpellier on Friday, followed by Monaco’s 2-0 away win over Lyon, Lille’s 2-0 win over Angers, and Le Havre’s 2-0 victory over Saint-Etienne on Saturday.