Despite dominating possession in the opening stages, Les Sang et Or struggled to unlock the visitors’ defence, with only Florian Thauvin able to produce a shot on target inside the opening 20 minutes.
Sporting grew into the game, though, and they were rewarded with the lead midway through the first half thanks to Luis Suarez’s close-range finish following Nestory Irankunda’s smart pass towards the edge of the six-yard box.
The situation almost became much worse for Lens shortly after the half-hour mark, when Suarez suddenly broke free of the last man back and had just the goalkeeper to beat, but Robin Risser pulled off a vital save to keep his side in contention.
Two minutes later, Yannick Cahuzac’s team were inches away from securing an equaliser, but Franjo Ivanovic’s curling 25-yard strike struck the woodwork to the relief of the travelling Sporting supporters.
The second half began in low-key fashion, but sprang into life on the hour mark when Kaique Pereira produced an outstanding save to tip Amadou Haidara’s long-range effort over the bar and keep his side in front.
Then, at the other end, Joao Simoes was denied by an unorthodox stop from Risser before Lens’ Odsonne Edouard forced Kaique into another impressive save at his near post.
With Les Sang et Or throwing everything forward in their quest for an equaliser, their defence was left vulnerable and Rui Borges’ side capitalised. An excellent pass from substitute Silas Andersen played Issa Doumbia into a great position, and with just the goalkeeper to beat, he cleverly slotted the ball past Risser to double Sporting’s lead and secure all three points in front of a subdued home crowd.
Sporting’s unbeaten away run now stands at 11 matches in all competitions since March, with this just their second victory in nine trips to France.
Lens, meanwhile, were unable to build on their matchday one victory at Slavia Prague, suffering just a third defeat in 30 home games in UEFA competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kaique Pereira (Sporting CP)
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