Ruben Aguilar Leads RC Lens to Dramatic Champions League Victory
Ruben Aguilar turned a wild European night into club folklore as RC Lens stole a staggering 3-2 win over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League at the Fortuna Arena.
For Dino Toppmöller and his players, this was heading straight for the “what might have been” pile. Ten-man Slavia, clinging on and seemingly out on their feet, somehow surged 2-1 ahead in the 89th minute when Sturm struck what looked like the killer blow. Lens stared at a brutal defeat.
Then the match tore up its own script.
Florian Thauvin dragged Lens level in the 91st minute, a lifeline when hope had almost vanished. Two minutes later, Aguilar stepped up and smashed in a brilliant low effort inside the post, the kind of finish that silences a stadium and sends a small pocket of away fans into delirium.
From 2-1 down in the 89th minute to 3-2 up in the 93rd. Chaos. And history.
The victory delivered Lens their first away win in the Champions League since 1998, a generational wait snapped in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
Speaking to Canal+ afterwards, Aguilar could barely believe the way the night had unfolded. He admitted nobody could have scripted such a frantic finale, instead pointing to the emotional bond inside this Lens squad, a group he says is built on collective suffering and shared effort.
He made it clear what it means to him to wear the shirt on nights like this.
“When you wear this logo, you have to give 100 per cent,” Aguilar 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 winner capped a personal story within the larger drama. Aguilar made sure to highlight his connection with Thauvin, the other name on the scoresheet for Lens. The pair trained together earlier in their careers; now they have a Champions League night to share forever.
“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 line summed up the mood around this Lens side. Aguilar praised not just the starters but the entire squad, including the substitutes, for staying united through every twist and turn in Prague. It felt less like a group of individuals and more like a single, stubborn block refusing to accept defeat.
Now comes the hard part: backing it up.
Lens must park the euphoria quickly and turn back to Ligue 1, where they host Le Mans FC on Sunday. Toppmöller will hope that the resilience, the late-game belief, and the fierce togetherness on display in Prague do not stay in Europe, but instead drive their domestic campaign.
After a night like this, anything less than that same ferocity would feel like a waste.
