Adil Rami's last-gasp equaliser earned 10-man Lille a 1-1 draw against Lens in the Derby du Nord at the Stade Felix-Bollaert in Ligue 1.

Razak Boukari looked to have set the hosts on their way to three points with a 57th-minute opener but Rudi Garcia's men - a man down for the final 18 minutes following the dismissal of substitute Yohan Cabaye - never gave up and got their reward in stoppage time.

The visitors, looking to continue their recent improvement following a win over Sochaux last weekend and a midweek Europa League draw with Valencia, started well with Pierre-Alain Frau forcing a good save from Vedran Runje in the third minute.

Lens' first noteworthy chance arrived 14 minutes later when Issam Jemaa escaped down the left and found Eduardo dos Santos on the penalty spot, but the Brazilian's fierce shot flew just over the crossbar.

The visiting fans were appealing for a penalty in the 25th minute when Gervinho's purposeful run into the area was halted by Eric Chelle, but the referee waved away the appeals.

The deadlock was broken 12 minutes after the restart. Boukari met Yohan Demont's free-kick to the far post with a powerful header which Ludovic Butelle was able to get a hand to but could not keep out, much to the home crowd's delight.

Lille's cause was not helped by the 72nd-minute sending-off of Cabaye, who saw red just a minute after his introduction for a bad tackle on Boukari.

Lens almost made the extra man count immediately when they found themselves two on one on a counter-attack, but Jemaa took too long after being supplied by Boukari and ended up losing possession.

Boukari had another chance to give the home team some breathing space nine minutes from time but he was denied by Butelle after being played in by Demont.

And Lens were made to pay for those misses in stoppage time when Rami rose highest to meet Rio Mavuba's long ball and head past Runje.