Racing Club de Lens made history on Friday evening, winning the Coupe de France for the first time in the club's 120-year history with a commanding 3-1 victory over OGC Nice at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The triumph rounded off an exceptional season for the northern French club, which had also pushed Paris Saint-Germain hard for the Ligue 1 title before finishing second, six points adrift. It was a long-awaited moment: Lens had previously lost all three of their French Cup final appearances, and were the only former French league champions — they won the title in 1998 — never to have lifted the cup.
Star forward Florian Thauvin was the driving force behind the victory, scoring the opener and providing an assist for a goal that extended Lens' lead. Thauvin, a 2018 FIFA World Cup winner with France, broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after being picked out in the box by a cut-back, finishing crisply past Nice goalkeeper Maxime Dupé. It was his third goal in as many cup rounds, having also scored in the quarterfinal and semifinal. Three minutes before half-time, striker Odsonne Édouard headed home a Thauvin corner to make it 2-0. Nice, however, refused to fold, and 17-year-old Djibril Coulibaly — a surprise inclusion in Claude Puel's starting line-up — gave the southerners a lifeline with a header just before the break to make it 2-1.
The second half was tense, with Nice hitting the woodwork twice and young Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser, 21, producing several crucial saves to keep his side ahead. The decisive blow came in the 78th minute, when substitute Abdallah Sima muscled past Nice's veteran captain Dante — who inadvertently played Sima onside — and poked the ball low into the corner to seal a 3-1 win. Under coach Pierre Sage, Lens also secured a second-place Ligue 1 finish that earns them a place in next season's Champions League.
The result adds to Nice's considerable misery. The club, based in the French Riviera city, has not won a Ligue 1 match since mid-March and finished 16th in the top flight — just above the automatic relegation places. Their league survival will be decided next week in a two-legged promotion/relegation playoff against Saint-Étienne. More than 55,000 Lens supporters made the journey from the industrial north of France to fill the Stade de France, turning the national stadium into a sea of the club's gold and red colours.
The final also carried a symbolic off-field dimension. Referee Jérôme Brisard wore a shirt bearing the number 84 — a reference to a survey finding that 84% of French respondents believe that valuing referees is synonymous with protecting sport. Match officials in French rugby and basketball are also set to wear the same number in upcoming fixtures as part of a wider campaign to promote respect for officials.