Thanks to a brace from Moffi and a goal by Thuram, OGC Nice won 3-1 in Lens in Ligue 1's Round 26.

This Nice side has character! This Nice side are all action and did what it took to get all three points at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis; OGC Nice emerged 3-1 winners in their Ligue 1 clash with Lens in Round 26. Ahead at half-time thanks to Terem Moffi (0-1, 11'), Le Gym scored twice in the second half, through Thuram (0-2, 53') and... Moffi, who calmly converted his penalty (0-3, 67') to complete a brace - as he did in the first clash between the sides this season. Wahi reduced the deficit forthe hosts in the final quarter of an hour (76'), but it remained a convincing win for Nice, with Francesco Farioli's team leap-frogging their opponents on the night and landing in provisional fourth place ahead of the weekend's other matches.

At kick-off, the Tuscan coach made three changes to his starting XI from Wednesday's cup defeat to Paris, with Moffi at the top of the attack, Cho on the right and Perraud at left-back. Bułka, Lotomba, Todibo, Dante (c), Sanson, Rosario, Thuram and Boga made up the rest of the Nice team, lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.

Moffi gives Le Gym an ideal start

Les Niçois got off to a flying start. From the very first seconds, Le Gym began to push forward, with Rosario's shot fizzing wide (1') before Sanson latched onto Boga's cross from the left and tried his luck (2'). Francesco Farioli's players were very much in the driver's seat, leaving Lens very few opportunities and taking advantage of the slightest gap to put them in danger. And the pressure from Nice was rewarded: in midfield, Cho got the better of Medina. The 20-year-old winger then raced goalward, laying it off to his left for Moffi. Clean through in the area, the Nigerian only had to tap the ball into the back of the net (0-1, 11').

Les Sang et Or looked to hit back quickly. Served well by Aguilar, Sotoca volleyed wide (15'). But Nice, who had been rigorous and serious from the start of the match, managed to hold on to their advantage with some steely defending - typified by Rosario's tackle on Pereira da Costa's cross (19') - and lively attacking play. After winning the ball high up the pitch once again, Moffi tried to return to he favour for Cho, who saw his effort in the box go wide of Samba's goal. On the half-hour mark, Morgan Sanson, visibly injured, made way for Tom Louchet.

As the first half drew to a close, Lens increased the pressure on Le Gym's rearguard. But neither Wahi's shot (40'), Sotoca's attempt (41'), which was saved by Bułka, nor Pereira da Costa's chance (45') were able to penetrate the Nice defence. Our Aiglons thus returned to the dressing room with a one-goal lead courtesy of Terem Moffi.

Thuram saves the day for Les aiglons

After the break, the match went from strength to strength, with Lens intent on pulling level and Nice determined to take all three points. In the space of a minute, Le Gym had a massive roller coaster ride - first, they thought they had conceded an equaliser, but Wahi's goal was ruled out by VAR for offside (52'). Seconds later, shock turned to delirium thanks to Khephren Thuram. After Cho intercepted a poor pass from Papy Mendy just on the edge of the Lens area, he found Thuram, who burst through to side-foot past Samba for his first of the season and his ninth in 160 matches in a Nice jersey (0-2, 53').

A double for Moffi

After this second goal, Les Aiglons followed their game plan to the letter and stayed relatively safe at the back. After the hour-mark, Francesco Farioli made a number of changes: Laborde and Guessand replaced Cho, who had bagged two assists, and Boga. Lens were struggling to create chances at the start of the second half and Nice weren't holding back. From a corner by Perraud, Rosario was held back by Khusanov and the referee awarded a penalty to Le Gym. Terem Moffi made no mistake from the spot, slotting the ball past Samba for his ninth league goal of the season (0-3, 67'). Le Gym were three goals to the good!

However, the side who call the Stade Bollaert-Delelis home managed to reduce the deficit nine minutes later. Wahi opened the scoring for Lens with a close-range finish after Saïd had nodded down (1-3, 76'). In the final quarter of an hour, Le Gym dropped deep and defended their lead tooth and nail. Farioli made his final changes, with Mendy and Claude-Maurice coming on for Moffi and Rosario. Lens kept crossing and trying to score a second goal, but Nice were solid defensively, with Louchet deflecting efforts from Frankowski (78') and Saïd (87') for corners and Perraud making a number of inspired interventions. After an intense match, Les Aiglons emerged victorious.

International break before Nantes

After the international break, Francesco Farioli and his men take on Nantes at the Allianz Riviera in Ligue 1 Round 27 on Sunday 31 March. The match kicks off at 15:00.