LENS, France — Winger Wesley Saïd scored a brilliant goal to secure Lens' 10th consecutive win across all competitions and place atop the Ligue 1 standings on Saturday.
Lens defeated Auxerre 1-0 after Saïd controlled with his chest a cross from Malang Sarr into the box and finished with a left-footed volley from the bounce. The 65th-minute goal was his eighth this season.
Lens, which claimed its only French title in 1998, stayed one point ahead of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, which beat Lille on Friday.
Next-to-last in the standings, Auxerre was not intimidated by the buoyant crowd and posed a strong challenge to the host with intense pressing.
After a first half of few clear chances, Lens showed more intent and Matthieu Udol, set up by Adrien Thomasson, came close to breaking the deadlock. The ball fell back to Udol who struck again only for defender Fredrik Oppegård to block.
Other Ligue 1 Results
Marseille built a commanding 4-0 lead against Angers after 40 minutes. Amine Gouiri opened the scoring, followed by goals from Mason Greenwood and Hamed Traore. Winger Timothy Weah added a header to cap a slick collective move. Igor Paixao made it 5-1 in the 88th minute and Jim Allevinah pulled one back for Angers just before the interval.
Toulouse thrashed Nice 5-1 for their third win in four Ligue 1 matches. Santiago Hidalgo started in place of the suspended Emersonn and scored twice. New signing Elye Wahi was also on the scoresheet for Nice.
Toulouse has 29 goals, its best total after 18 rounds since 1998. The team was seventh in the standings, 17 points behind Lens.
PSG warmed up for next week's Champions League match at Sporting with a convincing 3-0 win over Lille on Friday. Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored a brace.
Monaco fell to its seventh defeat in eight games, losing 3-1 at home to Lorient.