RC Lens Claims Dramatic 3-2 Victory Over Slavia Prague

Ruben Aguilar crashed a shot in off the post in the 93rd minute to complete a wild turnaround and hand RC Lens a 3-2 UEFA Champions League win over Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena – their first away victory in the competition since 1998.

For long stretches, it looked like a night that would haunt them.

Dino Toppmöller’s side, already facing ten men, trailed 2-1 when Sturm struck in the 89th minute, a goal that seemed to drain the French side of everything they had poured into the game. The stadium erupted, the clock bled away, and Lens stared at a bitter defeat in a match they had no intention of losing.

Then chaos arrived.

Florian Thauvin dragged them level in the 91st minute, pouncing when it mattered most. His finish didn’t just restore parity; it lit a fuse. Suddenly, every Lens attack felt charged, every second a chance to rip up the script that had them beaten.

Two minutes later, Aguilar did exactly that. Stepping up in the dying moments, the defender unleashed a brilliant effort that kissed the inside of the post and flew in, the kind of strike that instantly etches itself into a club’s European folklore. From despair to delirium in four breathless minutes.

Speaking to Canal+ after the final whistle, Aguilar admitted no one in that stadium could have imagined such an ending. He underlined what had carried them through the chaos: an emotional bond inside the squad and a willingness to suffer together.

For him, the badge on the shirt demands nothing less.

"When you wear this logo, you have to give 100 per cent," he said. "We give everything for the people of Lens, and it's only at this club that you can experience emotions like this. I'm very proud tonight. We couldn't have written this scenario."

Aguilar’s night was not just about his own moment of glory. He made a point of turning the spotlight on Thauvin, his fellow scorer and long-time friend from earlier stages of their careers. To share a Champions League night like this, both on the scoresheet, clearly meant as much as the result itself.

"We were trained together and tonight we both scored in the Champions League," Aguilar added. "My buddy Flo got the man of the match trophy, and I'm so happy for him. We're really good friends, we have a blast, we suffer together, and we're all rewarded."

That word again: together.

Aguilar praised not only the starters but also the substitutes, stressing how every player had stayed locked in through every twist and turn of a match that refused to settle. The collective mindset, the refusal to fracture even when the game seemed lost, defined this Lens performance as much as any individual strike.

Looking Ahead

Now comes a different kind of test.

With a dramatic European opener in the books, Lens must drag their emotions back down to earth and refocus on Ligue 1. Toppmöller’s men return home on Sunday to face Le Mans FC, carrying with them the adrenaline of Prague and a reinforced belief in their resilience.

Nights like this can jolt a season onto a new path. Lens will find out soon enough whether that late winner in Prague was just a wild chapter, or the start of something far bigger.