RC Lens rally late to beat 10-man Slavia Praha 3-2
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16 Sept 2026RC Lens rally late to beat 10-man Slavia Praha 3-2
RC Lens turned a wild UEFA Champions League night into three points with two stoppage-time goals to beat 10-man Slavia Praha 3-2 at Fortuna Arena. Danijel Šturm’s brace had the hosts in front late, but Florian Thauvin and substitute Ruben Aguilar flipped the scoreboard at the death. The match hinged on a 49th-minute red card for Slavia’s Mikuláš Konečný, yet even that didn’t stop the home side from twice taking the lead before it slipped away.
Lens held more of the ball, created pressure from wide areas and finished stronger. Slavia were direct, dangerous on counters and set pieces, and led the expected goals race. It all set up a dramatic finale that will be debated for a while in Prague. Full match details and advanced stats are available on the Sofascore match page, and you can explore the broader competition picture on the UEFA Champions League hub.
See the full match page on Sofascore | UEFA Champions League on Sofascore
Game flow and key moments
After a cautious first half that ended 0-0, the game erupted on 49 minutes when Konečný was sent off for a last-man foul after a VAR check. Remarkably, Slavia struck first at 51 minutes as Šturm finished left-footed from a Samuel Isife pass. Lens then pinned the hosts back and levelled at 73 through Abdallah Sima, who turned in from a corner situation. Against the run of play, Šturm made it 2-1 in the 88th minute with his second, setting up a frantic finish.
Lens kept coming. Thauvin headed in an equaliser at 90 minutes after a quality cross by substitute Mezian Mesloub. Three minutes later, Aguilar intercepted high and drilled the winner into the low left corner to complete the turnaround. The late one-two punch reflected Lens’ territorial control and deep bench impact. Slavia’s Tomáš Chorý entered late but was involved in the error that preceded the decisive third goal. The final whistle confirmed a 3-2 away win that matched the late momentum swing.
Numbers behind Lens’ comeback
Lens owned 63% possession and fired 26 shots to Slavia’s 18, including 8 on target to 5. The visitors led touches in the box 42 to 27 and forced 9 corners to Slavia’s 6. Cross volume told a similar story, with Lens attempting 29 and connecting on 6, while Slavia hit 14 and landed 3. The visitors were also cleaner on the ball, completing 361 accurate passes from 441 attempts; Slavia finished 189 of 264.
Interestingly, Slavia edged expected goals 2.12 to 1.77, but Lens led expected goals on target 2.15 to 1.65, reflecting the visitors’ higher-quality finishing once shots were on frame. Lens’ dribble success rate hit 37% (7/19) compared to Slavia’s 17% (2/12), and they won 55% of all duels. Slavia countered with more interceptions (18 to 11) and clearances (33 to 25), a byproduct of long spells spent defending. Goalkeeper metrics underline the fine margins: goals prevented were negative for both keepers (home -0.85, away -0.35), hinting that shot-stopping slightly trailed chance quality. Add in Lens’ sharper final-third phase accuracy (102/140, 73%) compared to Slavia (56/99, 57%), and the late swing looks more logical than lucky.
How the red card changed everything
The 49th-minute dismissal put Slavia down to 10, shifting the tactical picture. Both teams started in a 3-4-2-1, but the sending-off pushed Slavia deeper, inviting Lens’ wing-backs and attacking midfielders to overload the flanks. Even so, Slavia struck almost immediately after the red, using direct play and sharper runs to spring Šturm for 1-0. The hosts also won more final-third entries overall (55 to 48), showing their transitions remained a threat.
As the half wore on, Lens’ control told. They produced 21 second-half shots to Slavia’s 10 and generated 1.65 xG after the break. Substitute choices mattered: Mesloub supplied an excellent cross for Thauvin’s header, while Aguilar, also off the bench, scored the winner after an interception. Odsonne Édouard added energy, won duels and tested the keeper, though he did miss a big chance. Slavia’s late lead at 2-1 showcased their resilience, but constant defending and the reduced numbers finally cracked under stoppage-time pressure.
MVP: Danijel Šturm’s two-goal show
On a night when Slavia were outnumbered for over 40 minutes, Danijel Šturm delivered a standout performance up front and earned a Sofascore Rating of 9.3. He scored both home goals, finishing clinically in the 51st minute and again in the 88th to briefly restore the lead. Šturm took 4 shots with 2 on target and added 4 key passes, drifting into smart pockets to keep Slavia dangerous in transition. His creative output was backed by an expected assists figure of 0.726 and expected goals of 0.429, underlining how often he turned half-chances into real ones.
Beyond the goals, Šturm’s 14 ball carries and 4 recoveries helped Slavia breathe under pressure. He completed 14 of 21 passes in the opposition half and kept Lens’ back line guessing with runs both to feet and in behind. In a match defined by momentum, he nearly won it on his own. It’s not often a forward with limited possession time tilts the shot-quality ledger, but Šturm did exactly that.
UEFA Champions League
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RC Lens turned a wild UEFA Champions League night into three points with two stoppage-time goals to beat 10-man Slavia Praha 3-2 at Fortuna Arena. Danijel Šturm’s brace had the hosts in front late, but Florian Thauvin and substitute Ruben Aguilar flipped the scoreboard at the death. The match hinged on a 49th-minute red card for Slavia’s Mikuláš Konečný, yet even that didn’t stop the home side from twice taking the lead before it slipped away.
Lens held more of the ball, created pressure from wide areas and finished stronger. Slavia were direct, dangerous on counters and set pieces, and led the expected goals race. It all set up a dramatic finale that will be debated for a while in Prague. Full match details and advanced stats are available on the Sofascore match page, and you can explore the broader competition picture on the UEFA Champions League hub.
See the full match page on Sofascore | UEFA Champions League on Sofascore
Game flow and key moments
After a cautious first half that ended 0-0, the game erupted on 49 minutes when Konečný was sent off for a last-man foul after a VAR check. Remarkably, Slavia struck first at 51 minutes as Šturm finished left-footed from a Samuel Isife pass. Lens then pinned the hosts back and levelled at 73 through Abdallah Sima, who turned in from a corner situation. Against the run of play, Šturm made it 2-1 in the 88th minute with his second, setting up a frantic finish.
Lens kept coming. Thauvin headed in an equaliser at 90 minutes after a quality cross by substitute Mezian Mesloub. Three minutes later, Aguilar intercepted high and drilled the winner into the low left corner to complete the turnaround. The late one-two punch reflected Lens’ territorial control and deep bench impact. Slavia’s Tomáš Chorý entered late but was involved in the error that preceded the decisive third goal. The final whistle confirmed a 3-2 away win that matched the late momentum swing.
Numbers behind Lens’ comeback
Lens owned 63% possession and fired 26 shots to Slavia’s 18, including 8 on target to 5. The visitors led touches in the box 42 to 27 and forced 9 corners to Slavia’s 6. Cross volume told a similar story, with Lens attempting 29 and connecting on 6, while Slavia hit 14 and landed 3. The visitors were also cleaner on the ball, completing 361 accurate passes from 441 attempts; Slavia finished 189 of 264.
Interestingly, Slavia edged expected goals 2.12 to 1.77, but Lens led expected goals on target 2.15 to 1.65, reflecting the visitors’ higher-quality finishing once shots were on frame. Lens’ dribble success rate hit 37% (7/19) compared to Slavia’s 17% (2/12), and they won 55% of all duels. Slavia countered with more interceptions (18 to 11) and clearances (33 to 25), a byproduct of long spells spent defending. Goalkeeper metrics underline the fine margins: goals prevented were negative for both keepers (home -0.85, away -0.35), hinting that shot-stopping slightly trailed chance quality. Add in Lens’ sharper final-third phase accuracy (102/140, 73%) compared to Slavia (56/99, 57%), and the late swing looks more logical than lucky.
How the red card changed everything
The 49th-minute dismissal put Slavia down to 10, shifting the tactical picture. Both teams started in a 3-4-2-1, but the sending-off pushed Slavia deeper, inviting Lens’ wing-backs and attacking midfielders to overload the flanks. Even so, Slavia struck almost immediately after the red, using direct play and sharper runs to spring Šturm for 1-0. The hosts also won more final-third entries overall (55 to 48), showing their transitions remained a threat.
As the half wore on, Lens’ control told. They produced 21 second-half shots to Slavia’s 10 and generated 1.65 xG after the break. Substitute choices mattered: Mesloub supplied an excellent cross for Thauvin’s header, while Aguilar, also off the bench, scored the winner after an interception. Odsonne Édouard added energy, won duels and tested the keeper, though he did miss a big chance. Slavia’s late lead at 2-1 showcased their resilience, but constant defending and the reduced numbers finally cracked under stoppage-time pressure.
MVP: Danijel Šturm’s two-goal show
On a night when Slavia were outnumbered for over 40 minutes, Danijel Šturm delivered a standout performance up front and earned a Sofascore Rating of 9.3. He scored both home goals, finishing clinically in the 51st minute and again in the 88th to briefly restore the lead. Šturm took 4 shots with 2 on target and added 4 key passes, drifting into smart pockets to keep Slavia dangerous in transition. His creative output was backed by an expected assists figure of 0.726 and expected goals of 0.429, underlining how often he turned half-chances into real ones.
Beyond the goals, Šturm’s 14 ball carries and 4 recoveries helped Slavia breathe under pressure. He completed 14 of 21 passes in the opposition half and kept Lens’ back line guessing with runs both to feet and in behind. In a match defined by momentum, he nearly won it on his own. It’s not often a forward with limited possession time tilts the shot-quality ledger, but Šturm did exactly that.
Who else stood out?
For Lens, captain Florian Thauvin was everywhere. He attempted 8 shots, put 3 on target, created 4 chances and finally got his goal with a well-timed header in the 90th minute. Andrija Bulatović (7.7) knitted play from midfield with 44 accurate passes, 3 key passes and 3 successful tackles across 74 touches. Abdallah Sima scored the equaliser at 73 minutes and worked hard across both boxes.
Slavia’s back line had its own bright spots. Tomáš Vlček posted a 7.6 with 8 clearances, 3 blocks and 5 aerials won, plus a big chance at the other end. Samuel Isife (7.4) produced the assist for the opener and stacked 4 interceptions and 3 tackles, showing authority in duels despite the numerical hole. On the Lens bench, Mezian Mesloub changed the game with 4 key passes and that late cross, while Ruben Aguilar needed just 28 minutes to make decisive defensive actions and bury the winner.
Player of the Match
By Sofascore Rating, the best player was Danijel Šturm with a 9.3. Fans agreed, giving Šturm 1,764 votes out of 2,912. When the numbers and the crowd line up, you usually got the story right.