French Cup: Lens’ feat
Lens beat Nice 3-1 in the French Cup final, played at the Stade de France. It was the first title in this competition for the northern club, which finished second in Ligue 1, six points behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Florian Thauvin shone with a goal and an assist. At 25 minutes he opened the scoring, and before the break he assisted Odsonne Édouard to make it 2-0. Djibril Coulibaly scored for Nice at the start of the second half, but Abdallah Sima made it 3-1 with 12 minutes remaining.
Thauvin scored in the quarterfinals, semi-final and final, a rare achievement. The team led by Pierre Sage combined youth and experience to win.
Nice’s bad moment
For Nice, the defeat was a difficult result. They have not won in Ligue 1 since mid-March and finished the season in second-to-last place. Their permanence in the first division will be defined next week in a promotion/relegation playoff against Saint-Étienne.
Number 84 on the back
Referee Jérôme Brisard wore the number 84 on his shirt, as part of a campaign to promote respect for whistlers. The figure refers to a survey that showed that 84% of French people believe that valuing referees protects the sport. The initiative will be extended to rugby and basketball in future matches.




