Turkish Lille striker Burak Yilmaz (L) fights for the ball in the air with French Saint-Etienne striker Jean-Philippe Krasso during the French L1 soccer match between Saint-Etienne (ASSE) and Lille ( Losc), at the Geoffroy Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne on August 21, 2021 (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)

Defending champions Lille were still on the hunt for their first win of the new French season after Saidou Sow’s late equalizer that saw Saint-Etienne draw 1-1 on Saturday.

Burak Yilmaz, the veteran Turkish forward who was Lille’s top scorer in their remarkable title run in May, had previously put the visitors ahead with an instant shot late in the first half.

But Saint-Etienne equalized with four minutes to go when teenage defender Sow met a corner kick with an imposing header, sending the ball over to Lille keeper Ivo Grbic – making his debut after signing a loan from Atletico Madrid – and in the net.

Lille, whose title-winning coach Christophe Galtier left for Nice at the end of the season, started this Ligue 1 campaign with two draws on both sides of a 4-0 at home hammered by Nice.

Monaco came third last season to carve out a place in the Champions League, but their debuts were even worse: after taking a point in their first two outings, the Principality lost 2-0 at home to Lens Saturday.

Second-half goals from Cameroon striker Ignatius Ganago and substitute Simon Banza helped Lens win at the Stade Louis II, already leaving Monaco eight points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

For Monaco, everything now hinges on the return leg of their Champions League play-off against Shakhtar Donetsk, Niko Kovac’s side heading to Ukraine on Wednesday 1-0 after the first leg while she is looking for a place in the group stage.

Ganago put Lens ahead six minutes into the second half, easily escaping Strahinja Pavlovic to enter the box and score.

The away team then lost midfielder Cheick Doucoure, sent off for a challenge over Krepin Diatta just past the hour mark, but Monaco were unable to assert their one-man advantage.

Indeed, they sent off Aleksandr Golovin for a dangerous tackle on Banza late, and Lens sealed the victory in added time as Przemyslaw Frankoswki lined up for Banza to finish.

“To maintain the same level of performance as last season, we have to do even more because our opponents now have a better idea of ​​us,” Kovac said in a damning record of his team.

“To be successful again, we will have to fight harder. In football, nothing is taken for granted.”

PSG took three of three wins on Friday as Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria both scored in a 4-2 win at Brest.

Ander Herrera and Idrissa Gana Gueye were also on track for a PSG side that still lacked both Lionel Messi and Neymar, neither of whom are yet fit to play.