Lens captain Florian Thauvin scored two penalties as Lens thumped Auxerre 5-2 in their first game of the French Ligue 1 season on Saturday.
Thauvin converted from the spot either side of the break as the northerners continued their good form from last season when they finished second in the table behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Last weekend, German coach Dino Toppmoeller won his first competitive game in charge of Lens, beating PSG in the French Champions Trophy.
𝐁𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝑳𝒆𝒏𝒔𝐞́𝐬 💪
— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) August 22, 2026
Incisifs et dominateurs, les Lensois soignent leurs débuts dans cette campagne 2026/27 de @Ligue1 de la meilleure des manières avec ce large succès à Bollaert-Delelis ! 💪
RC Lens 5⃣-2⃣ @AJA#RCLAJA pic.twitter.com/mZkQznf9gD
"The most important thing was to win, and to start the season well," defender Matthieu Udol told reporters.
"It was also important to back up last week's result."
Auxerre had defender Christ Massoko sent off in the first half for a foul on Lens attacker Abdallah Sima.
Thauvin, a World Cup winner in 2018, opened the scoring after just 12 minutes after Belgium under-21's midfielder Arthur Piedfort handled the ball in the hosts' box.
Thauvin's low finish sent the packed Stade Bollaert crowd wild before the visitors were down a man as Massoko was sent off 10 minutes before the interval.
Lens continued to dominate in the sun after the break as new boy Franjo Ivanovic opened his account for Les Sang et Or on 49 minutes.
The Croatia international fed Sima on the edge of the box before his attack partner returned the pass to find the 22-year-old, who smoothly finished past Mamadou Diop.
« 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 » ❤️💛#FiersDEtreLensois #RCLAJA pic.twitter.com/V9hexg2ek1
— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) August 22, 2026
Five minutes later, Thauvin, 33, turned the provider, setting up winger Saud Abdulhamid before Danny Namaso cut the deficit just before the hour mark with a penalty of his own.
Defender Ismael Ganiou re-established a three-goal cushion with 24 minutes left, then Lamine Sy claimed a consolation for Auxerre before Thauvin slotted his second penalty two minutes from time.
Later on Saturday, newly-promoted Le Mans, backed by a consortium including Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and tennis star Novak Djokovic, drew 2-2 with Brest in their first top-flight game since 2010.
TRIBUTES PAID TO ERIC ROY
Brest winger Romain Del Castillo equalised in the first half as home and away fans chanted the name of former Brest boss Eric Roy, who died from cancer in June.
Le Mans fans also unfurled a banner saying "Rest in peace Eric Roy" during the pre-organised minute of singing.
"I don't usually listen to noise off the field but I heard the tribute to the coach," Brest midfielder Joris Chotard told Ligue 1+ after the club's first competitive game since Roy's death.
"Scoring then was a head nod to the coach. We know well that all the matches we play are not just for us."
Troyes, who came up as Ligue 2 champions, were held to a goalless draw by Paris FC in Liam Rosenior's first league game in charge of the side from the capital.
Lyon won 2-0 at Toulouse despite making sweeping changes to their line-up with next week's Champions League play-off second leg with Fenerbahce in mind.
Champions PSG begin their tilt at a record-extending 15th French top-flight title at Rennes in the pick of Sunday's matches.
On Friday, Algeria forward Amine Gouiri scored twice as Marseille beat Strasbourg 4-0 in the opening game of the campaign.
Substitute Keyliane Abdallah and midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made sure of the three points for Bruno Genesio's side late on to extend Marseille's unbeaten league run over the Alsatians stretching back to 1997.