PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 3-0 Lens: Les Dogues embarrass rivals in comfortable Derby du Nord win

PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 3-0 Lens: Les Dogues embarrass rivals in comfortable Derby du Nord win Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 28, 04/04/2026 Lille OSC slapped local rivals RC Lens with a bruising 3-0 defeat in the Derby du Nord on Saturday evening. The Match The smoke from firecrackers filled the Stade Pierre-Mauroy with a thick white haze, giving the Derby du Nord a fog of war in the opening exchanges. After ten minutes, and with the away team’s white shirts blending in with the smoke, the referee called a halt to the game, setting the tone for a stop-start half.

When the ball was in play, Lille dominated it, with Lens taking up a passive approach out of possession. Lens so often like to harry the opposition high up the pitch, but they settled into a low-to-medium block, likely wary of the pace of Lille’s mobile front line. Despite Lens’s intentions, Lille still found space behind Lens’s backline to thread through-balls for Matias Fernadez-Pardo and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson to run at.

Robin Risser was called into action throughout the first half as he did his best to prevent Lille from taking the lead. A second break in the game would come into effect in the 38th minute, following chants from the Lille supporters. Six minutes later, Lille would find another sort of break as they opened the scoring.

Aïssa Mandi’s ball from deep released Fernandez-Pardo down the left channel. The striker held possession long enough for reinforcements to arrive before delivering a cross on the cut-back. Haraldsson was waiting at the far post and tapped home a well-deserved lead.