LENS/SAMPDORIA, Nov 3 (SW) - Two weeks after being torn apart by Steaua, Lens recovered well to hand a beating to Swedish side Halmstad in UEFA Cup Group C. Elsewhere, Steaua were pulled back to earth and held to a draw at Sampdoria.

Lens - Halmstad 5-0

It was all about Daniel Cousin at the Stade Félix-Bollaert, the striker scoring three times in an absolute rout of their Swedish counterparts.

Cousin opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he re-directed a header by Olivier Thomert beyond the Halmstad goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. Only seven minutes later, Cousin made it 2-0 when he converted Eric Carrière's cross.

Two minutes after the half-time interval, Cousin blasted in his hat-trick with a drive from distance past Conny Johansson before Issam Jemaa and Yoann Lachor added further goals later on.

Sampdoria - Steaua 0-0

Sampdoria earned a point in their Group C opener as they held former European champions Steaua to a goalless draw in Genoa.

Victoras Iacob had a chance to snatch all three points near the end, but the Romanian fired a shot over the cross with only goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi to beat.