RC Lens secured a 1-0 victory over Le Havre to move temporarily atop the Ligue 1 standings. Ruben Aguilar's volley in first-half stoppage time proved decisive. The result places Lens a point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain ahead of their upcoming match.
RC Lens returned to the summit of Ligue 1 on January 30, 2026, following a hard-fought 1-0 win against Le Havre. The match, played in Le Havre, saw Aguilar fire home a volley right before halftime, giving the visitors the lead they would not relinquish. An apparent second goal from Adrien Thomasson in the 66th minute was disallowed by VAR due to a handball in the buildup, but Le Havre struggled to create meaningful chances, remaining fourth from the bottom and six points above the relegation playoff spot held by Nantes.
This triumph intensifies pressure on leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who trail by one point and face a challenging away fixture against Strasbourg the following day. Lens's disciplined performance underscores their title credentials in a tightly contested season.
Elsewhere in Europe, RCD Espanyol's push for Champions League qualification hit a snag with a 1-2 home defeat to Alaves in LaLiga. Robert Fernandez Jaen headed the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, but Antonio Blanco equalized with a fine strike from the edge of the box 12 minutes later. The turnaround came late when Toni Martinez outmaneuvered the defense to set up Lucas Boye for the winner from the right byline. Espanyol, now fifth, sit seven points behind fourth-placed Villarreal despite having played two more games, vulnerable to being overtaken by Real Betis or Celta Vigo.
In Serie A, SS Lazio edged Genoa 3-2 in a dramatic encounter at the Stadio Olimpico. Pedro's penalty and Kenneth Taylor's first goal for the club built a 2-0 lead, only for Ruslan Malinovskyi's spot-kick and Vitinha's close-range finish to level it. A 95th-minute VAR review for handball against Leo Ostigard led to Danilo Cataldi's 100th-minute penalty securing the points.
Bundesliga saw FC Köln defeat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0, courtesy of Linton Maina's first-half strike.
