With Marseille losing vital ground on the race for a top-three berth in their last home game, which ended in a shock 2-1 loss to newcomers Auxerre, the hosts had to assert their authority from the outset.
Yet it was Lens who forced the opening 30 minutes’ clearest shot on target, as Lois Openda charged in from the left flank and tried a daisy-cutting effort from distance, but Pau Lopez was equal to it with a comfortable save to his left.
Much of the marauding at the other end was being done by a roaming Matteo Guendouzi, but the Frenchman was also well-marshalled by the Lens backline.
The visitors’ determination to avoid back-to-back away losses for the first time in 2022 was evident, even though they were indebted to Jonathan Clauss’ profligacy as the interval neared, when he beat the offside trap to reach an Alexis Sanchez through-ball, only to mishit wide when one-on-one with Brice Samba.
After a quiet start to the second half, Chancel Mbemba was nearly a hero just before the hour mark, with a ball across goal finding the Congolese free on the angle.
He ran through on goal, but a moment’s hesitation saw a shot blocked at point-blank range by Deiver Machado for a corner that delivered nothing amid the excitement.
Mbemba was again left frustrated mere minutes later, after a ball through the Lens backline gifted him a direct shot on goal, only for the intervention of Kevin Danso and the leg of Samba to deny him this time.
Soon after, Danso once more had to directly duel a key Marseille player, as Guendouzi broke through again and pulled the trigger, only for Danso to make a last-ditch challenge. With 15 minutes to go, the Austrian’s bravery would be rewarded with a stunning match-winner for Lens out of practically nothing.
A somewhat innocuous throw-in fell to Costa 25 yards out, and a right-footed rocket took a wicked deflection off Leonardo Balerdi’s outstretched leg, looping the ball in off the bar over Lopez and stunning the majority of those in attendance into intense silence.
This set Lens up for a finale of high tension, but the away side negotiated it with professionalism against their deflated hosts.
In a sure sign of their intent to finally break back into the UEFA Champions League, the now second-placed Lens boast four wins from as many matches played against teams that began this weekend in the top-six.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kevin Danso (RC Lens)
