Lens Make History with Coupe de France Win Against Nice

Lens beat Nice to cap stellar season with first cup  

Florian Thauvin and Odsonne Edouard scored as Lens beat Nice 3-1 to win their maiden Coupe de France title in a dramatic final.  

Goals from Thauvin, Edouard, and Sima sealed Lens’s first Coupe de France win as Nice’s fightback fell short in Paris...

RC Lens won the Coupe de France for the first time after beating OGC Nice 3-1 in the final at the Stade de France.

Both sides were chasing a trophy, so the opening minutes were tight. The match opened up just before the 15-minute mark.

Lens came close to scoring first when Allan Saint-Maximin cut inside and fired from the edge of the area, with his shot going narrowly over. At the other end, Elye Wahi missed a clear chance from close range for Nice.

Later in the half, Saint-Maximin rounded the goalkeeper and looked set to score. His shot was cleared off the line by a well-timed block.

At the other end, Robin Risser kept Lens level with sharp saves against Sofiane Diop and Dante in quick succession.

Lens broke through in the 25th minute when Florian Thauvin met Matthieu Udol’s low pass inside the box and fired a left-footed shot into the net from 15 yards.

Thauvin’s 14th goal of the season sparked wild celebrations among the Lens fans, who sensed a historic win to finish off a strong campaign.

Lens made it 2-0 at a crucial moment shortly after. Thauvin delivered a corner that found Odsonne Edouard, and his header took a deflection on its way past Maxime Dupe.

Nice pulled one back in first-half stoppage time to set up a tense second half. Djibril Coulibaly rose highest to head home Jonathan Clauss’s corner and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Nice pushed for an equalizer and went close just after the hour mark. Antoine Mendy met a cross inside the box and headed against the crossbar, to Lens’s relief.

Lens held firm and restored their two-goal lead with 12 minutes left. Abdallah Sima poked the ball past a rushing Maxime Dupe and into the net to make it 3-1.

Monsieur Gervais Martel 🥹#ŒuvreDARTésiens pic.twitter.com/VaGPpjpigh

— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) May 22, 2026

To their credit, Claude Puel’s Nice side never stopped fighting and struck the woodwork again with under 10 minutes left. Substitute Kevin Carlos met a cross with a header that bounced out off the post.

In the end, the night belonged to Lens and their place in history. They managed the final stages well to secure a memorable win, and the trophy capped off an excellent season under Pierre Sage.

Nice’s season isn’t over yet. They travel to face AS Saint-Etienne on Tuesday for the first leg of their Ligue 1 relegation play-off.