RC Lens Stuns Slavia Prague with Last-Minute Victory

Ruben Aguilar delivered a stoppage-time thunderbolt as RC Lens ripped up the script and stole a 3-2 UEFA Champions League win over Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena, ending a 26-year wait for an away victory in Europe’s elite competition.

For long stretches, it looked like a night that would haunt them.

Dino Toppmöller’s side, reduced to ten men, were staring at defeat when Sturm fired Prague 2-1 up in the 89th minute. The home crowd roared, sensing the job was done. Lens looked broken, out of breath, out of time.

Then the chaos began.

Florian Thauvin dragged Lens level in the 91st minute, pouncing when his team needed him most. The equaliser didn’t just silence the stadium; it jolted Lens back to life. Two minutes later, Aguilar stepped up and carved his name into the club’s European history.

His strike, drilled brilliantly inside the post, completed a staggering turnaround. From 2-1 down in the 89th minute to 3-2 up in the 93rd. Ten men. Away from home. In the Champions League. The kind of finish that usually belongs in fiction.

Speaking to Canal+ afterwards, Aguilar admitted no one could have imagined such an ending. He spoke about the bond inside this Lens squad, about a group that leans into suffering rather than shying away from it, and how that shared hardship holds them together.

For Aguilar, wearing the Lens badge carries a clear obligation.

“When you wear this logo, you have to give 100 per cent,” he said. “We give everything for the people of Lens, and it's only at this club that you can experience emotions like this. I'm very proud tonight. We couldn't have written this scenario.”

The defender’s joy wasn’t just about his own winner. He lit up when talking about Thauvin, his close friend and fellow scorer on the night. The pair trained together earlier in their careers; now they are sharing Champions League goals on the same evening.

“We were trained together and tonight we both scored in the Champions League,” Aguilar added. “My buddy Flo got the man of the match trophy, and I'm so happy for him. We're really good friends, we have a blast, we suffer together, and we're all rewarded.”

That last line summed up the night. Starters, substitutes, those who played and those who didn’t – Aguilar made a point of praising the entire group for staying united through every wild twist.

Lens leave Prague with more than three points. They leave with a statement: this is a team that refuses to fold when the night turns dark.

Now comes the test of what they do with it.

Toppmöller’s men are back in Ligue 1 on Sunday, hosting Le Mans FC. After an unforgettable night in Prague, the challenge is clear: can this resilience, this edge, this unshakeable spirit survive the grind of the domestic season?