Late El Abdi Strike Earns Nice a Point Against 10-Man Lens
OGC Nice fought back late to secure a 1-1 home draw with Racing Club de Lens on Ligue 1 matchday 32, thanks to a crucial equaliser from substitute Ali El Abdi after the visitors had been reduced to ten men.
Lens took the lead just after the hour mark. Former Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin struck in the 60th minute, finishing off a move created by Adrien Thomasson to make it 1-0 to the visitors. The goal shifted the balance of the contest and forced Nice to chase the game heading into the closing stages.
Nice head coach turned to his bench in the 71st minute with a triple change, introducing Isak Jansson, Salis Abdul Samed and Ali El Abdi for Mohamed Cho, Morgan Sanson and Kaïl Boudache. The changes added fresh energy, but it was a Lens dismissal that opened the door for the hosts.
In the 81st minute, Saud Abdulhamid was shown a red card for Lens, leaving the northern side to defend their narrow advantage with ten men. Just three minutes later, Nice capitalised as El Abdi found the net in the 84th minute to level the score at 1-1. The strike came without a recorded assist in the official data.
Lens made a late switch in the 86th minute, bringing on Ruben Aguilar for Florian Thauvin, while Nice continued to push with two stoppage-time substitutions, introducing Kevin Carlos and Charles Vanhoutte for Sofiane Diop and Hicham Boudaoui.
Discipline played a visible role in the match, with yellow cards shown to Malang Sarr and Thauvin for Lens, and Abdulay Bah and Melvin Bard for Nice, on top of Abdulhamid’s dismissal.
More detailed statistics, lineups and minute-by-minute events beyond the listed goals, bookings and substitutions were not available in the provided data. For further information on the fixture and Ligue 1 standings, visit the Ballaxy match centre and the Ligue 1 page.
Ligue 1 Standings
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Paris Saint-Germain FC
|
31 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 70 | 27 | 43 | 70 | D W W L |
| 2 |
Racing Club de Lens
|
31 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 61 | 33 | 28 | 64 | D D W L |
| 3 |
Olympique Lyonnais
|
32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 34 | 18 | 60 | W W W W D |
| 4 |
Lille OSC
|
32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 58 | D W D W W |
| 5 |
Stade Rennais FC 1901
|
32 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 56 | 46 | 10 | 56 | L W W W W |
| 6 |
AS Monaco FC
|
32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 56 | 48 | 8 | 54 | W D D L W |
| 7 |
Olympique de Marseille
|
32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 59 | 44 | 15 | 53 | L D L W L |
| 8 |
RC Strasbourg Alsace
|
31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 46 | L W L W |
| 9 |
FC Lorient
|
32 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 44 | 49 | -5 | 42 | D L W L D |
| 10 |
Toulouse FC
|
32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 41 | W D L L |
| 11 |
Paris FC
|
32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 44 | 47 | -3 | 41 | W L W W D |
| 12 |
Stade Brestois 29
|
31 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 38 | L D D L |
| 13 |
Angers SCO
|
32 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 27 | 46 | -19 | 34 | L L D L D |
| 14 |
Le Havre AC
|
32 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 30 | 43 | -13 | 32 | D D D D D |
| 15 |
OGC Nice
|
32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 36 | 58 | -22 | 31 | D D D D L |
| 16 |
AJ Auxerre
|
32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 30 | 43 | -13 | 28 | W L D D D |
| 17 |
FC Nantes
|
32 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 29 | 51 | -22 | 23 | W L L D D |
| 18 |
FC Metz
|
32 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 32 | 72 | -40 | 16 | L D L L D |
