After a quiet opening, the game burst into life after 10 minutes as the visitors’ Thorgan Hazard had an effort from outside the box saved, before failing to climb high enough to nod home a right-wing cross.
Those chances sandwiched a curling Franjo Ivanovic effort that left the far post rocking, while the first real opening at the other end came to Jan Virgili, who had the sting taken out of his rasping drive by an excellent block.
It was the French outfit who remained on top though, and Ivanovic fluffed his lines inside the area. His miskick fortuitously fell at the feet of Junior Kadile though, and his low strike was expertly cleared off the line.
The 23-year-old came even closer to his first Champions League goal minutes later when he powerfully nodded down Michael Cuisance’s ball, only for Yann Sommer to make an outstanding stop down to his left.
That save proved crucial as Ivan Leko’s men took the lead against the run of play in first-half injury time, with Hans Vanaken sweeping home from close range after Robin Risser could only push Nicolo Tresoldi’s header into his path.
That extended the Blood and Gold’s run without a clean sheet in this competition to 16 games, and things got worse after the break. Their hosts made it 2-0 within just five minutes of the restart, when Joaquin Seys saw his initial shot well saved, only to burst onto the rebound and lift it into the back of the net.
The response was almost immediate, though, with Amadou Haidara twice missing the target either side of Jean-Clair Todibo being denied by Sommer.
Lens were never going to respond from there, and they duly found themselves three goals behind after giving the ball away cheaply in midfield. Their opponents counter-attacked at lightning speed, with Carlos Forbs teed up by Hugo Vetlesen to slot home.
Ivan Leko’s men were now smelling blood, knowing a fourth would equal their biggest ever win at this stage of the Champions League. It was not forthcoming, as Vanaken could not convert with a free header and Mamadou Diakhon was left frustrated when teammate Hugo Vetlesen deflected his shot wide.
Brugge, who have now lost only one of their last six fixtures against French opposition, have now picked up six points from their opening three league phase games. Lens, on the other hand, failed to bounce back from their defeat to Sporting on matchday two.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yann Sommer (Club Brugge)