Lens captain Fofana has been exceptional as usual for his second-placed his, and the Ivorian comes off late for Lukasz Poreba.
90' +4
M. Verratti gets yellow.
Yellow Card Marco Verratti
90' +3
Mbappe's cross from the byline looks to have been spilled by Samba, but he re-gathers just in time with Zaire-Emery closing in.
90' +2
Verratti makes his way forward and crosses for Marquinhos in the box. The PSG captain, still up-field following a cleared corner, glances a header at the front post, but it's straight into the gloves of Samba.
90'
We'll play five minutes of added time here, which is plenty for PSG to snatch at least one goal right at the end of this game.
88'
Ismaël Gharbi gets yellow.
This melee is far easier for the referee to separate, and he books Gharbi for the foul once he has done so.
87'
Gharbi slides in with a nasty foul on Haidara, and this time it's the Lens players' turn to rush in as another melee starts on that far touchline.
83'
Gharbi is almost able to latch onto a deflected backpass in Lens' half, but Samba is on hand to collect the loose ball before he can do so.
81'
A loose ball breaks Fofana's way, who bears down on goal with Marquinhos to beat. He looks to square for Sotoca, but his pass is underhit and PSG are able to clear before the striker can shoot!
Minute
Description
80'
Said chases a long ball forward from the back, but Donnarumma races well out of his box to hoof the ball clear and over the touchline!
78'
Ismaël Gharbi enters the game and replaces Carlos Soler.
Soler is the next to come off for PSG, with teenager Ismael Gharbi coming on to see out the game.
76'
Lens race clear on the counter and Frankowski cuts inside from the right. His attempted ball to Said is cut out by Mukiele, but his clearance ricochets back off Marquinhos to gift the hosts a corner!
73'
W. Zaïre-Emery enters the game and replaces H. Ekitike.
W. Saïd enters the game and replaces L. Openda.
J. Onana enters the game and replaces A. Claude-Maurice.
Openda's return to Lens' starting XI has yielded a goal and an assist for the Belgian, but he comes off now for the man he replaced in the Lens lineup, Wesley Said.
Claude-Maurice's early goal in this second half has put some daylight between the sides, and he comes off now for Jean Onana.
Ekitike comes off next for PSG having scored their only goal after eight minutes, and another youngster in Warren Zaire-Emery will take his place.
70'
Hakimi beats Frankowski with ease to race towards the box, before finding Mbappe. He looks to twist and turn his way through four Lens defenders, but is easily dispossessed and the hosts have the ball back.
68'
Frankowski bursts into the box to receive Openda's pass, but goes down under pressure from Hakimi. The home fans call for a penalty, as do the Lens players, but the referee waves away their protests and play continues.
67'
Lens attack at speed once again as the ball is spread wide to Sotoca. He lays it off for Claude-Maurice on the edge of the box, but his first-time finish is mis-cued and he drags it wide!
65'
Haidara comes forward with support from Fofana, who drives down the byline and looks to drill a low cross, but the ball bounces behind off Mukiele for a Lens corner.
63'
Soler hooks a cross towards Ekitike in the box, but good defending from Danso sees him get to the ball first before beating Sarabia on the edge of the box and clearing.
58'
Vitinha enters the game and replaces Fabián Ruiz.
Ruiz's shot was his last contribution, as he's replaced by Vitinha in midfield for Paris.
PSG make a double change, and first off is Pereira for Pablo Sarabia.
57'
Pablo Sarabia enters the game and replaces Danilo Pereira.
Verratti picks out Ruiz on the edge of the box, and he looks to place a curving finish in the top corner but can only send it over the crossbar!
56'
Hakimi wins a corner after a close-range cross is deflected behind, but the ball in is a poor one which Danso heads clear.
55'
Mbappe dribbles down the byline and hooks a cross towards goal, but no-one from PSG can get to the ball and Lens eventually clear.
52'
Haidara looks to put Openda in behind the Paris defence one more, but the striker runs slightly offside and is flagged accordingly.
47'
A. Claude-Maurice has scored a goal for Lens! Assist by L. Openda.
GOOOOOAAAALLL!!!! Lens make it three!!!! Calamitous passing at the back puts PSG in all sorts of trouble, as Verratti is dispossessed following a poor ball from Pereira. Openda recovers possession and back-heels to Claude-Maurice, who takes a touch to set himself before firing beyond Donnarumma! Panic stations for PSG, but pandemonium for Lens, who extend their lead to 3-1 right at the start of the second half!
The awareness from Openda to find Claude-Maurice with that audacious flick was absolutely superb, and he gets an assist to add to his goal as Lens establish control of this game.
46'
Openda resumes proceedings for Lens, as he kicks off the second half for the hosts.
45' +3
A. Hakimi gets yellow.
J. Gradit gets yellow.
Hakimi raced straight into Gradit following the tackle, and so he is also booked for sparking the coming-together between the players.
With the players separated, Gradit is eventually shown a yellow card for the foul which sparked that melee.
HALF-TIME: LENS 2-1 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN.
45' +2
Mbappe looks to make a burst down the left but is barrelled over by Gradit, sparking a scuffle between both sets of players that the referee is struggling to keep control of!
45'
We'll play a minute of added time to close out this first half.
42'
Mbappe's clipped pass for Ekitike is headed down, and the France superstar picks up the loose ball to fire a deflected shot wide and behind for a corner!
41'
S. Abdul Samed gets yellow.
Mukiele charges forward for PSG after drifting into the centre, but he's felled on halfway by Abdul Samed, who is shown the game's first yellow card for the tactical foul.
40'
Lens break and Openda is put into open space once more, but this time Marquinhos is not to be beaten and re-gains possession for Paris.
39'
PSG win a free-kick on the left edge and Soler whips a teasing cross into the box, but a strong punch from Samba gets it clear for Lens, who race away on the counter.
37'
A poor clearance from Medina is recovered by Soler in the box, but his pass for Mbappe is cut out and Lens clear the danger.
35'
Lens make a break and Openda is put into space in the box once more, but he goes down under pressure from Ramos to no avail, as the referee waves play-on.
34'
Quick play from PSG sees Verratti release Mbappe in the box, but his clipped ball back across the face of goal finds no-one and Lens recover possession.
32'
Pereira and Medina clatter into one another, with the Lens defender coming off the worse. He's eventually helped to his feet, and despite the knock is able to continue.
28'
L. Openda has scored a goal for Lens! Assist by S. Fofana.
GOOOOOAAALLL!!! Lens are back in the lead!!! They cut out a PSG attack, and Fofana turns Soler before racing past Mbappe. From inside his own half, the Lens captain threads a ball forward for Openda to race in to the clear, and he skilfully beats Marquinhos in the box before firing the ball underneath Donnarumma to score for the home side!!! 2-1 to Lens, and this first half takes yet another wild twist!
The pace, power, skill and vision from Fofana there was the stuff of champions, with the Ivorian showing exactly how his unlikely Lens side are second in the table right now - they're not afraid of anyone, and with play like that against the reigning champions, why would they be?
27'
Donnarumma unconvincingly flaps at a Lens corner, with the ball dropping to Openda, but his shot takes a deflection as it skews over the bar!
25'
Franck Haise becomes the 16th manager to take charge of 100 matches in all competitions with Lens. Of this number, only Arnold Sowinski (1.85) and Daniel Leclercq (1.77) have a better average points per game than Haise (1.71) after 100 matches in all comps as Racing coach in history.
22'
Lens look to work a free-kick routine on the edge of PSG's box, but Frankowski's pass to Fofana is underhit and the Racing captain loses the ball under pressure from Pereira.
18'
Openda ghosts in behind the PSG defence and looks to square for Claude-Maurice, but the offside flag is correctly raised before he can pick out the pass.
14'
Mukiele releases Ruiz down the right, but his pass into the centre of the box is a poor one, which is easily cut out by Danso.
11'
Marquinhos looks to find Mbappe with a long ball forward, but the striker shoves Gradit as he runs to concede a free-kick.
8'
H. Ekitike has scored a goal for PSG!
GOOOOOAAAALLL!!! There's the Paris response!!! Ruiz floats a ball into the box which Mukiele chases at speed. He hooks it back to the front post, where Ekitike takes a touch to beat the goalkeeper before poking it home to level the scores! Just eight minutes gone in Lens, and already it's 1-1!!
5'
P. Frankowski has scored a goal for Lens!
GOOOOOOAAALLLL!!!!! Lens lead!!!! The hosts break at speed and Sotoca fires a peach of a cross-field pass to Haidara charging down the left byline. His volley into the centre of the box is half-parried by Donnarumma, but the ball falls to Frankowski who can volley straight into the unguarded net! Five minutes gone, and it's the Ligue 1 runners-up who have a 1-0 advantage here!
4'
PSG win a free-kick of their own which finds Ekitike in the box, but the on-loan striker can't direct his headed effort on target.
2'
Marquinhos shunts Openda to the floor, giving Lens a free-kick. It's crossed into the box and flicked across the face of goal by Sotoca at the front post, but Fofana's ball back into the centre is cleared by PSG, who counter.
1'
Ekitike kicks off for PSG, and we are underway in North-Eastern France!
Hello, and welcome to live coverage of this top-of-the-table clash in Ligue 1, as second-placed Lens take on leaders Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Lens have been the surprise package of the 2022-23 season so far, and sit four points clear of Marseille in third after 16 games with the joint-best defence in the competition. They’re still seven points behind runaway leaders PSG though, but could close that gap to four with a win in this game.
PSG needed a last-minute penalty from Kylian Mbappe to edge past second-bottom side Strasbourg in their first game back after the World Cup, in a match which saw Neymar sent off after picking up two yellow cards in as many minutes. The reigning champions were arguably lucky to get through a second half that saw Strasbourg go close to winning it themselves, but still found a way to win all three points thanks to Mbappe’s spot-kick.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN: Keylor Navas, Sergio Rico, Juan Bernat, Vitinha, Pablo Sarabia, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Warren Zaire-Emery, Ismael Gharbi, Ilyes Housni.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (4-3-1-2): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Nordi Mukiele, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi; Marco Verratti, Danilo Pereira, Fabian Ruiz; Carlos Soler; Hugo Ekitike, Kylian Mbappe.
LENS SUBS: Jean-Louis Leca, Deiver Machado, Jean Onana, Lukasz Poreba, Steven Fortes, Wesley Said, Ismael Boura, Julien Le Cardinal, Remy Labeau Lascary.
LENS (3-4-2-1): Brice Samba; Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso, Facundo Medina; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Seko Fofana, Salis Abdul Samed, Massadio Haidara; Florian Sotoca, Alexis Claude-Maurice; Lois Openda.
The teams head out onto the pitch, and we're almost ready for kick-off now!
The teams return for the second half, and can Lens hold onto this lead to hand the defending champions their first defeat of the season?
That's all from us, we hope you enjoyed the game. Until the next one, goodbye!
A glorious 3-1 win for Lens shows that despite being underdogs, they're a team who can beat anyone on their day, as they close the gap to four points behind PSG. They also open up a seven-point gap between themselves and third place, putting pressure on Marseille and the rest of the chasing pack to catch up with Franck Haise's exciting Sang et Or side. PSG remain top, but showed that they are certainly beatable when a side out-battles them in every area of the pitch.
Commentary
More…