Paponi late winner stuns Lens

Late twist
Zlatko Dedič's 77th-minute effort had cancelled out Lens forward Daniel Cousin's first-half goal before Paponi added the late twist that leaves the French outfit still needing a point from their last group match at SC Heerenveen in a fortnight's time.

Confident start
Parma had started confidently and almost stunned the hosts early on, with Igor Budan's left-footed strike from the edge of the area going just over the crossbar. However, after surviving that scare, Lens found themselves in front with 19 minutes on the clock. A swift counterattack ended with Cousin racing past Ferdinand Coly and firing beyond goalkeeper Alfonso De Lucia.

Cousin denied
Buoyed by the goal Cousin could have got his second within a minute, but his powerful effort was blocked by Marco Rossi and soon Parma were back on the offensive in a topsy-turvy encounter - home keeper Charles Itandje being forced into a full-length save to beat away Federico Moretti's drive. Seydou Keita then saw a close-range attempt rebound off the post for Lens shortly before the break, while just the other side of the interval a Budan strike was disallowed for offside as Parma thought they had scored.

Hosts stunned
The visitors from Italy continued to press and were level when Slovenian forward Dedič outwitted two defenders before slotting past Itandje from close range. The goal left the Ligue 1 team rattled and they were shell-shocked when Parma snatched the points with seconds remaining as Paponi stole the ball from Patrick Barul and beat Itandje.