Raphael Guerreiro's first-half strike was enough for Lorient to beat Lens 1-0 and climb off the bottom of the Ligue 1 table.
Lens were forced onto the back foot in just the 15th minute when Loick Landre foolishly launched into a tackle on Valentin Lavigne, which earned him a straight red card and saw the forward leave the action with an injury.
The pressure was piled on Lens six minutes later when Jordan Ayew released Guerreiro, who held his nerve in front of goal to fire home.
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Lorient capitalised on their numerical advantage to dominate possession after the goal, but they missed chances to double their lead before the break, with Rudy Riou denying both Gilles Sunu and Walid Mesloub.
Riou was in excellent form after the break to keep his side's slim hopes alive with an impressive save to keep out Mehdi Mostefa.
Lens were unable to cause problems for the hosts as Lorient forced the visitors to chase possession for much of the second half.
Lorient should have added to their goal late on, but Mesloub missed another great chance after beating the offside trap.
Callum Mulvihill
