Cousin guides Lens to victory

Ten-man RC Lens finished the first half of the season in style, capitalising on yesterday's slips by FC Girondins de Bordeaux and AJ Auxerre to climb to second in Ligue 1 after a 2-0 home win against Le Mans UC 72.

Dindane dismissal
Aruna Dindane broke the deadlock at a freezing Bollaert stadium just after the half-hour mark, stroking the ball past Le Mans goalkeeper Yoann Pelé after meeting a pin-point cross from Daniel Cousin. The goalscorer turned villain ten minutes into the second half when he was dismissed, but any hopes the visitors had of taking advantage of the lack of discipline were ruined when they too were reduced to ten men when Túlio Vinicius also saw red.

Lyon lead
Cousin then sealed the points for Lens with his eighth goal of the season in added time, as Francis Gillot's team, who have not lost in the league since the opening day of the season, climbed up to second. They remain 12 points behind runaway leaders Olympique Lyonnais, however, despite the French champions suffering their first defeat of the campaign against LOSC Lille Métropole on Friday.

Monaco victory
Lens are now seemingly at the head of an eight-way battle for second and third places, an octet that includes AS Monaco FC after Francesco Guidolin's team won against Toulouse FC. On-loan midfield player Olivier Kapo scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining. The league reconvenes on 4 January.