Slavia Praha 2-3 Lens: two stoppage-time goals sink 10-man Slavia after two leads
Danijel Šturm twice put ten-man Slavia Praha in front at the Fortuna Arena, but Florian Thauvin and Ruben Aguilar struck in the fourth and sixth minutes of stoppage time to hand Lens a stunning 3-2 comeback win in their Champions League opener.
Lens produced one of the league phase's first great comebacks, scoring twice in stoppage time to beat Slavia Praha 3-2 at the Fortuna Arena after going behind not once but twice to a Slavia side reduced to ten men before the hour mark. Danijel Šturm scored both Slavia goals, and for most of the night it looked like it might be enough.
A red card, then a lead — twice
Slavia's night got complicated early: Mikuláš Konečný was sent off in the 49th minute, and yet two minutes later Šturm put the home side ahead anyway, scoring with a man light. Abdallah Sima drew Lens level in the 73rd minute, but Šturm struck again in the 88th to restore Slavia's lead with the clock running down and the extra man advantage seemingly enough to see out the win.
Two goals in six stoppage-time minutes
It did not hold. Florian Thauvin headed in an equaliser in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, and Ruben Aguilar completed the turnaround two minutes later, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, to snatch all three points for Lens in the most dramatic finish of the round.
Goal timeline
| Minute | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 51' | Slavia Praha | Danijel Šturm |
| 73' | Lens | Abdallah Sima |
| 88' | Slavia Praha | Danijel Šturm |
| 90'+1' | Lens | Florian Thauvin (header) |
| 90'+3' | Lens | Ruben Aguilar |
A team that already has one famous scalp this season
The win continues an eventful start to the season for Lens, who beat PSG 1-0 to lift the Trophée des Champions back in August but have found Ligue 1 tougher going since, taking just three points from their opening three league matches. A stoppage-time double away from home, against a side that had led for most of the night with an extra man, is exactly the kind of result that keeps a mixed start from turning into a bad one.
Match stats
| Stat | Slavia Praha | Lens |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 37.3% | 62.7% |
| Shots on target | 5 | 8 |
| Total shots | 18 | 26 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 2.12 | 1.77 |
| Corners | 6 | 9 |
| Fouls | 8 | 8 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Line-ups
| Slavia Praha | Lens |
|---|---|
| Markovic | Risser |
| Isife | Skoras |
| Kubiak | Udol |
| Chaloupek | Sagnan |
| Zima | Ganiou |
| Vlček | Antonio |
| Nowak | Bulatović |
| Sadílek | Haïdara |
| Chytil | Ivanović |
| Ayaosi | Thauvin |
| Šturm | Sima |
What's next
Slavia will feel this one got away from them after leading twice with a man advantage, while Lens take a stoppage-time smash-and-grab into the rest of the league phase. Both sides return to domestic action before their next Champions League fixture.
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