Lens extended their winning run in Ligue 1 to seven games as they beat Toulouse 3-0 to ensure another week in top spot.
Toulouse made a good start but the momentum quickly swung in the visitors' favour when Emersonn was shown a straight red card, with Wesley Said, Adrien Thomasson and Ismaelo Ganiou scoring in the second half.
Rasmus Nicolaisen fired a shot on target after just 45 seconds for Toulouse, while Emersonn failed to test Robin Risser after 11 minutes as the hosts looked to be building momentum against the league leaders.
However, that all changed in the 22nd minute when Emersonn was given his marching orders after a late challenge on Odsonne Edouard near the halfway line, causing Toulouse boss Carlos Martinez to change his side's shape.
Lens began to dominate and finally got their breakthrough in the 57th minute. Alexis Vossah could not control a pass in his own box and it fell kindly to Said, who curled past Guillaume Restes and into the far corner.
Lens looked comfortable from there on in, obtaining 71% of possession in the second half, but captain Thomasson made sure of the win in the final 10 minutes, first adding a second after reacting quickest to a rebound before teeing up Ganiou for a powerful finish at the near post in stoppage time.
𝑵𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆́𝒆, 𝒎𝒆̂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆́𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.
— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) January 2, 2026
Avec beaucoup de sérieux, le RC Lens s'impose dans la Ville Rose, enchaîne un e succès en @Ligue1 et termine la phase aller du championnat en tête. Bravo Messieurs ! @ToulouseFC - RC Lens#TFCRCL pic.twitter.com/rxEKkS8FlF
Data Debrief: Thomasson leads by example
Lens overcame a potential hurdle against a Toulouse side who had won their previous two league games, though they were helped by the red card in the first half. Overall, Lens produced 1.53 expected goals (xG) from 16 shots to Toulouse's 0.66 from eight attempts.
Ahead of the match, Thomasson urged his side to stay focused on the task at hand and not a potential league title, and he did exactly that. He won 100% of his tackles (three), won seven of his 16 duels, regained possession five times, completed the most passes in the final third (26) and created two chances along with his goal.
Lens' current run of seven consecutive wins in Ligue 1 is also their joint-best in the 21st century, also doing the same in 2022-23 under Franck Haise.