Lens have won the Coupe de France for the first time in their history after defeating Nice 3-1 in the final.

Florian Thauvin starred for Pierre Sage's side at the Stade de France, scoring the opener before assisting Odsonne Edouard, while Abdallah Sima wrapped up a historic victory for Lens.

It was end-to-end from the first whistle, with Allan Saint-Maximin curling an effort onto the roof of the net early on before Elye Wahi shot over the bar from close range following miscommunication between Malang Sarr and Ismaelo Ganiou.

After Saint-Maximin saw another attempt cleared off the line, Thauvin opened the scoring in the 25th minute; Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser picked out Matthieu Udol with a long ball, and the full-back's cutback was turned in by Thauvin.

Thauvin then turned provider for Edouard in the 42nd minute, with the latter powering in a header from a corner, but Djibril Coulibaly still had time to pull a goal back for Nice before the break after he stooped low to guide in Jonathan Clauss' cross.

It was a frantic start to the second half as Wahi tested Risser with a stinging drive after just 30 seconds, while Antoine Mendy saw his header cannon off the underside of the crossbar and out as Nice pushed for a leveller.

However, Claude Puel's side were undone by another long ball, this time from Sarr in the 78th minute, as Dante inadvertently flicked Sima through on goal, and the Lens substitute stretched to poke the ball past Maxime Dupe.

Data Debrief: Lens in dreamland

After finishing as runners-up in the Coupe de France in 1948, 1975 and 1998, Lens finally get their hands on the trophy, which is also their first major silverware since winning Ligue 1 in 1998.

They did not have it all their own way in the showpiece, however, as Nice produced 1.4 expected goals (xG) from 17 shots to Lens' 1.22 from 16 attempts, though their clinical finishing proved to be the difference.

Thauvin has been directly involved in 16 goals across all competitions since the start of February (nine goals, seven assists); no French player has done better among those from the top five European leagues during this period.

While scoring from one of his two shots in the final, Thauvin also created a team-high three chances, while also completing both of his dribbles and winning four of his seven duels, to go along with his goal and assist.