Mathieu Duhamel scored a brace as Evian picked up three crucial Ligue 1 points with a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Lens.

Lens came close to breaking the deadlock early on when Wylan Cyprien's cross took a deflection and threatened to find the top corner before Benjamin Leroy made a fine save to keep his side on level terms.

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It was Evian who took control following their early scare, and they were ahead in the 19th minute when Duhamel used the space on the edge of the box to fire a powerful effort into the bottom corner.

Belgian striker Baptiste Guillaume should have equalised when the ball fell to him in the box, but Leroy responded well to make another important save.

That stop would become even more important when Evian doubled their lead through Duhamel, who timed his run to perfection to sprint clear of the defence and slot past a helpless Rudy Riou.

Pablo Chavarria came agonisingly close to reducing the deficit early in the second half when his curled effort drifted inches wide of the post.

Evian's Yeltsin Tejeda showed good footwork to create space in the box, but he missed a chance to kill the game off as his effort rebounded back off the post.

Despite an extended spell of pressure from Lens late on, Evian's defence held on to collect all three points after both sides were reduced to 10 men, with Daniel Wass and Ludovic Baal dismissed for clashing off the ball.