Sunderland beat Lens 2-0 in a Club Friendlies fixture on Friday 8 August 2026 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
There were no goals in the opening half, but Lens made changes to their shape as the clock ticked past the quarter-hour mark. T. Meunier came off at 46 minutes for the visitors, while O. Edouard replaced someone in the home side around the same time. To be fair, neither manager was looking to break the game open before the interval.
Things came to a head in the 67th minute when Sunderland took the lead through T. Hume. The equaliser never materialised, and W. Isidor doubled the advantage at 83 minutes. By then Lens had already seen S. Sagnan brought on for one of their own, but the visitors had seen it out.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Both sides held 50 per cent possession, though Sunderland registered 68 attacks against Lens's 52. There were four corners apiece, and the yellow card went to a Sunderland player at the 57-minute mark.
The result means Sunderland close their pre-season preparations on a high note, having beaten a side that came into the game with momentum from three wins in their last five friendlies. Lens, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten run in these matches come to an end, despite the clean-sheet record they had built up over the previous two fixtures.