Lens held by Strasbourg in blow to Ligue 1 title chances

2026-02-27 - 22:54

Strasbourg’s Joaquin Panichelli (right) fights for the ball with Lens’ Malang Sarr during their Ligue 1 match. (AFP pic) PARIS: Lens saw their chances of winning the French Ligue 1 title suffer a fresh setback on Friday in a 1-1 draw with Strasbourg which gives reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain the opportunity to extend their lead at the summit this weekend. Having lost 3-2 at home to Monaco last time out to surrender first place to PSG, Lens had to come from behind at the Stade de la Meinau with Mamadou Sangare getting their equaliser after Joaquin Panichelli netted for the hosts. Second-placed Lens are now just one point behind PSG, but the reigning French and European champions can extend the gap to four points by winning away at struggling Le Havre on Saturday. Panichelli gave Strasbourg the lead on 18 minutes in Alsace, the Argentine striker pouncing on a short backpass by Ismaelo Ganiou to run through and beat Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser with a delightful chip for his 14th Ligue 1 goal this season. That leaves him joint top of the scorers charts in France’s top flight, alongside Marseille’s Mason Greenwood. However, Lens had more of the chances following that and drew level just past the hour mark as Malian midfielder Sangare fired in off