Lens ease past rock-bottom Metz to move within one point of Ligue 1 leaders PSG

[p]After a stirring penalty shootout victory over Lyon in the Coupe de France in midweek, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lens/IBmris38/"]Lens[/a] were looking to continue building momentum after enduring a two-match winless slump in Ligue 1.[/p][p]And though they started positively here, chances weren’t flowing until the 15-minute mark, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fischer-jonathan/ARK8rbG6/"]Jonathan Fischer[/a] produced a brilliant point-blank save to keep out former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/metz/4v0yqlWc/"]Metz[/a] wing-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/udol-matthieu/AuzyopRB/"]Matthieu Udol[/a]’s header.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sima-abdallah/xzssoNnp/"]Abdallah Sima[/a] was at the heart of the action for the hosts, seeing an audacious bicycle kick sail harmlessly wide before his low effort at the end of a slick move deflected wide of the near post.[/p][p]Captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thomasson-adrien/4bTqh1H2/"]Adrien Thomasson[/a] then blazed over on the volley, before Sima dragged a similar effort wide of the target from 10 yards after Metz had repeatedly failed to clear their lines.[/p][p]The continuing one-way traffic meant a Lens opener felt inevitable, and just two minutes after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/edouard-odsonne/0nQoakto/"]Odsonne Edouard[/a] had been denied by Fischer, their patience was rewarded on the stroke of half-time.[/p][embed guid="560c797a-8589-4369-b746-6c3ec34b68a2" url="https://x.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/2030662148989345860" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Thomasson’s cross reached Sima via a deflection, and he superbly steered it to the back post, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/abdulhamid-saud/OOentN4R/"]Saud Abdulhamid[/a] was waiting to hammer home his first Ligue 1 strike of the season.[/b][/p][p]After a desperate first half showing in which they registered just a single shot, Metz were hoping for better in the second period.[/p][p]However, just 17 seconds after the restart, their deficit was doubled, and the contest was put realistically beyond them.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="ec655239-49cf-4241-9374-86db044de69c" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="b7ef15e2-feb0-461e-9a55-b1d2d48ffcac" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]Lens worked the ball well from kick-off down the right, with Thomasson laying off for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thauvin-florian/SMbMSc26/"]Florian Thauvin[/a] to pick out the bottom corner and score his fourth goal in five matches.[/b][/p][p][b]More pain was on the way for the visitors, who conceded a third just six minutes later through half-time substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haidara-amadou/lYg9oNUk/"]Amadou Haidara[/a], who slotted through Fischer’s legs after a classy one-two with Udol to net his first-ever Ligue 1 goal.[/b][/p][p]Metz offered very little in response, though came close to a late consolation when Alpha Toure’s effort trickled wide.[/p][embed guid="b0b3c19f-6932-4361-9f81-dcfe6930a485" url="https://x.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/2030675322941714477" social-type="twitter" /][p]A comfortable afternoon’s work for Metz delivered a sixth clean-sheet victory in their last eight home league matches, and gives them a solid chance of becoming the first side in over two decades to overturn a four-point deficit with 10 games remaining to win Ligue 1.[/p][p]Metz, meanwhile, blanked for the fifth time in their last six league outings, with this result stretching their winless run in the competition to 13 matches, keeping them a whopping 11 points adrift of definite safety.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thomasson-adrien/4bTqh1H2/"]Adrien Thomasson[/a] (Lens)[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="c5531c70-19d1-469d-b012-17b81339051a" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="03216113-89af-4c26-a8cb-26cb1580e99f" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/lens-IBmris38/metz-4v0yqlWc/summary/stats/?mid=Me2SwItH"]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]