Le Mans 2-2 Lens: Toppmöller’s changes rescue Lens after Bourabaa lights up MMArena

Lens left Le Mans with a point on Sunday in Ligue 1, Regular Season - 4, and probably with mixed feelings. Final score: Le Mans 2-2 Lens. They were two goals down just before half-time, level six minutes after the restart, and then saw a late penalty cancelled after VAR intervention. Not clean. Not convincing. But useful.

For P. Videira, this was close to a statement win. Le Mans, still searching for their first Ligue 1 victory of the season, led through Adil Bourabaa in the 32nd minute and Lucas Calodat in the 44th minute, with Bourabaa providing the assist for the second goal. The home side had the match exactly where they wanted it.

Then came the Lens response. Abdallah Sima scored in first-half stoppage time, at 45+2, dragging D. Toppmöller’s side back into the game before the interval. At the break, Toppmöller moved fast. Lens made three changes in the 45th minute, and one of the substitutes, Franjo Ivanovic, scored in the 51st minute from a Ruben Aguilar assist.

Lens had changed the terms of the match.

The lineups and the shape

Le Mans started in a 3-1-4-2 under P. Videira.

Their XI was: E. Hatfout, N. Boissé, S. Yohou, H. Voyer, L. Bretelle, R. Bamba, A. Bourabaa, J. Vercruysse, L. Calodat, L. Mafouta, D. Guèye.

Lens set up in a 3-4-2-1 under D. Toppmöller.

Their XI was: R. Risser, J. Gradit, K. Antonio, M. Udol, R. Aguilar, M. Cuisance, A. Bulatović, M. Skóraś, A. Sima, F. Thauvin, O. Édouard.

The starting shapes mattered. Le Mans had an extra body ready to screen in midfield through L. Bretelle, while A. Bourabaa and L. Calodat worked ahead of him with freedom to connect play and arrive around the Lens box. Lens had width through R. Aguilar and M. Skóraś, but for too long in the first half their possession lacked bite.

Bourabaa gave Le Mans the control Lens wanted

The early rhythm was choppy. N. Boissé was booked in the 15th minute, M. Cuisance followed in the 20th minute, and J. Vercruysse saw yellow in the 28th minute. That suited Le Mans more than Lens. It broke the tempo, narrowed the game, and gave Videira’s side the chance to turn possession into territory.

Then Bourabaa changed it.

He scored in the 32nd minute, and from that point Le Mans looked sharper in the decisive zones. His numbers matched the eye test: one goal, one assist, two key passes, and 43 total passes. He was the player who made Le Mans feel calm in a game that kept threatening to run away from them.

Lens lost another duel with discipline in the 38th minute, when A. Bulatović was booked. Six minutes later, Le Mans punished them again. L. Calodat scored in the 44th minute, assisted by Bourabaa, and at 2-0 the home side were not stealing anything. They had 53 percent possession across the match, 484 total passes, and 13 shots. This was not a passive underdog display.

But the next goal changed everything.

Sima’s goal altered the half-time talks

A. Sima scored at 45+2, and that was the moment Lens stayed alive. At 2-0, the half-time message would have been about damage limitation and correction. At 2-1, it became a proposal for a comeback.

Toppmöller did not wait. In the 45th minute, A. Haidara came on for M. Cuisance, F. Ivanović replaced O. Édouard, and Mezian Mesloub replaced M. Skóraś. Le Mans also made a change at the interval, with D. Sidibé replacing the booked N. Boissé.

The Lens triple change gave them fresh legs, more direct running, and a different threat around Le Mans’ back three. Ivanovic was the key part of that response. He scored in the 51st minute, assisted by Aguilar, and finished with one shot on target, one goal, three successful dribbles, and five duels won.

Aguilar also mattered. He produced the assist, made 55 passes, and created three key passes. When Lens needed a reliable outlet, he was it.

Lens pushed, Le Mans bent, VAR had the last word

The game did not settle after 2-2. F. Thauvin was booked in the 53rd minute, but he remained Lens’ main volume shooter: seven shots, three on target, three key passes, and three successful dribbles. He did not score, but he kept forcing Le Mans to defend second balls and broken phases.

Toppmöller made another change in the 55th minute, sending on J. Todibo for J. Gradit. Videira then made three more changes in the 65th minute: A. Lauray for L. Bretelle, D. Traoré for J. Vercruysse, and H. Diallo for D. Guèye.

Those 65th-minute Le Mans changes were about survival as much as energy. Diallo gave them a platform late on, winning six of eight duels and drawing two fouls. Lauray added two key passes in 25 minutes. Le Mans had lost the lead, but they did not collapse.

Then came the final major incident. T. Hazard replaced Sima in the 76th minute. Two minutes later, in the 78th minute, a penalty involving Hazard was cancelled after VAR intervention. That was the match’s last major swing. Lens had come back, but they did not get the green light for the full turnaround.

Videira used his final change in the 77th minute, with Raúl Torrente replacing S. Yohou.

Match statistics

Goals and cards

Goals

• 32nd minute: Adil Bourabaa, Le Mans
• 44th minute: Lucas Calodat, Le Mans, assisted by Adil Bourabaa
• 45+2: Abdallah Sima, Lens
• 51st minute: Franjo Ivanovic, Lens, assisted by Ruben Aguilar

Yellow cards

• 15th minute: Noa Boissé, Le Mans
• 20th minute: Michaël Cuisance, Lens
• 28th minute: Jean Vercruysse, Le Mans
• 38th minute: Andrija Bulatović, Lens
• 53rd minute: Florian Thauvin, Lens

What it means

This was not a derby and not a historic grudge match, but it carried real early-season weight. Lens came in needing stability after an uneven start, and the draw leaves them 10th with 4 points from four matches. They have scored eight, conceded seven, and still look like a team with attacking weapons but too many open doors.

Le Mans sit 14th with 3 points, still winless after four games, with a form line of DDLD. The frustration is obvious: two goals up at home, one point taken. But the performance had enough to build on. Bourabaa and Calodat gave Videira more than moments; they gave him a route.

The wider Ligue 1 table is already tight. Lille, Monaco and Rennes are setting the early pace on 10 points, while the middle band is congested. Nothing is moving cleanly yet.

For Lens, the next step is clear. Toppmöller’s bench changed the game. Now he needs a starting plan that does not require emergency repairs at half-time. For Le Mans, the task is different: keep Bourabaa central, protect leads better, and the first win should come.