Little Lens blossoming into serious rival for big spender PSG in Ligue 1 title race

PARIS (AP) — Lens has gone from surprise front runner to serious title contender in Ligue 1.

Despite having modest resources, coach Pierre Sage has done remarkably well to keep his side ahead of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.

Cash-rich PSG clinched a record-extending 13th league title last season while Lens won its only title in 1998. But Lens pushed PSG close in 2022-23 and finished runner-up by one point.

Lens is one point ahead of PSG this season and eight clear of third-place Marseille going into this weekend's 18th round.

Sage’s side will be confident of a club record-extending 10th straight win in all competitions when it hosts next-to-last Auxerre on Saturday.

Excellent teamwork and a strong defense are hallmarks of Lens which has five clean sheets in the past nine games.

PSG has a tricky home match against fourth-placed Lille on Friday at Parc des Princes, just days after being knocked out of the French Cup at home by capital city rival Paris FC.

Inconsistent Marseille is at mid-table Angers on Saturday and can ill afford to drop any points with Lille level on points.

Erratic Monaco has tumbled to mid-table and needs to bounce back with a home win against Lorient on Friday.

Lyon fans will be hoping to see Brazil forward Endrick in action at home to Brest on Sunday.

Endrick is on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season and scored on his club debut in the French Cup on Sunday.

After missing 14 games due to a shoulder injury, Marseille forward Amine Gouiri is finding form. He scored twice and provided one assist in a 9-0 French Cup win on Tuesday.

Nantes has earned a reputation for having a strong youth academy and Tylel Tati is the latest product. The 17-year-old central defender looked assured in a 2-0 win at Marseille and looks set to feature at home to Paris FC on Sunday.

Paris FC forward Jonathan Ikoné's neat finish knocked titleholder PSG — his former club — out of the French Cup. Ikoné has yet to score in the league.

Paul Pogba's move to Monaco is not working out as hoped and the former France midfield star remains sidelined by a calf injury.

The 2018 World Cup winner has also dealt with thigh and ankle problems since joining the club in the offseason, after more than two years out of the game in a career derailed by injuries, off-field problems and a doping ban.

Pogba hoped to relaunch his career in time to make France's squad for the World Cup but has so far played only 30 minutes in three substitute appearances.

Monaco's long injury list includes defender Mohammed Salisu (ACL), winger Ansu Fati (hamstring), goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky (knee) and winger Takumi Minamino (ACL).

Forwards Jérémie Boga and Terem Moffi are reportedly trying to terminate their contracts with Nice after being attacked by their own supporters following a game on Nov. 30.

After a 3-1 defeat at Lorient made it six straight losses, Nice players were confronted by a large number of angry Nice fans when they returned to the club’s training and academy center.

Boga and Moffi took blows to the head and groin and have since been on medical leave. According to sports daily L'Équipe, their case is being examined by the French league legal committee.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Fiorentina's Jonathan Ikone, left, celebrates with Christian Kouame after scoring the 2-0 goal during the Europa Conference League opening phase soccer match between Fiorentina and LASK at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Thursday Dec. 12, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP, File)

FILE - Monaco's Paul Pogba stands on the touchline as players warm-up before a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur in Monaco, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni, file)

Marseille's Amine Gouiri, right, and PSG's Marquinhos, left. battle for the ball during the French Super Cup soccer match between PSG and Marseille in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jaber Abdulkhaleg)

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique gives instructions during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

FILE - Lens' head coach Pierre Sage celebrates with players after the French League One soccer match between Lens and Marseille in Lens, France, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)