decisive in the league but less on the European scene, Lille Jonathan David expected at the turn against Real Madrid

The Canadian striker from Losc is the second top scorer in Ligue 1 this season (five goals in six games) but must be present in the big matches.

What better way to build confidence before a Champions League match than to score a hat-trick in the league? But for Jonathan David, triple scorer against Le Havre on Saturday, the opponent will be of another caliber, Wednesday October 2, against Real Madrid. And if the Canadian is Lille’s top scorer of the 21st century, he has never really weighed in during Losc’s major European games and will be expected around the corner to catch the Madrilenians.

Behind Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane, but ahead of Vinicius Jr, Erling Haaland or Robert Lewandowski. In 2024, over the calendar year, Jonathan David is the third most decisive player in national and international competitions in the European Top 5, with 26 goals and 6 assists. But despite his consistency for several years and a considerable weight in Losc’s achievements – he scored 30% of Lille’s goals last season – the Canadian has worn the Dogues jersey since 2020 and the big European clubs are not rushing to join. offer its services.

Its displayed limits on the European scene are perhaps the reason. With Lille, excluding the play-offs, he scored only three goals in nine Champions League matches, none in eight Europa League matches, and three in eight Europa Conference League matches. He especially did not weigh against Aston Villa during the decisive matches in the quarter-finals of C4 last season, and was almost non-existent offensively against Sporting Portugal during the Mastiffs’ first match in the Champions League this season.

“He’s still a young player (24 years old), we tend to forget him because he has scored so many goals that we have the impression that he is 30 years old or older. In Ligue 1, he has proven his consistency, with 20-25 goals, which is a guarantee of success for the club. For the Champions League, he has much less experience.” defended his trainer Bruno Genesio on Tuesday at a press conference. The technician also wanted to highlight his numerous defensive efforts and his “altruism”.

An altruism sometimes taken to its climax like on Saturday, when he offered a penalty to take to his friend Angel Gomes, when he was the designated penalty taker for Losc but had already scored three goals. A penalty saved by Le Havre goalkeeper Arthus Desmas, which deprived Lille of a 4-0 victory. It is perhaps this lack of selfishness, highlighted after the match by Bruno Genesio, which is detrimental to him from shining more at the highest level. “Ask Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema if they would let such an opportunity to score a quadruple slip away”asked the coach. His team will in any case try not to give Kylian Mbappé the opportunity.