Two days from the end of the group stage, Lille is already playing big. Tuesday, against Salzburg, a victory will not (yet) allow Lille to qualify for the final phase. But a defeat would see them consider the last day in a delicate position in a very open group where the four teams can still glimpse the knockout stages.
Opposite, although at the head of the group, the Austrians are only two points ahead of Lille and Wolfsburg. Unlike the first leg, the Red Bull team did not arrive in the North in the best possible conditions, but neither did Lille.
Since Seville, two draws and doubts
Since the victory in Seville on the last day of the Champions League, the Mastiffs have not regested the scent of victory. Convincing in Andalusia a few days after a good performance in Paris despite the defeat (2-1), the Lille have since conceded two draws. At home against Angers first (1-1), then traveling to Monaco (2-2), Friday, after leading 2-0.
Less attractive in the game, the Northerners know that they will have to be attentive to the defensive withdrawal. “Salzburg have the ability to be very strong in transition, with fast attackers. You have to be very balanced, very present at the heart of the game since they are very crowded with their diamond arrangement”, warned Jocelyn Gourvennec on Monday. Especially since Lille must also dealing with a workforce plagued by numerous injuries.
Le Losc will have to compose without André and Ikoné
For the reception of the leader of the group, Jocelyn Gourvenec will have to compose without two of his usual holders. Suspended after a yellow card received in Seville, Benjamin André and striker Jonathan Ikoné will therefore be absent. Absences that add to the injuries of goalkeeper Sven Botman and left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, both forfeited. “The offensive players have recovered well, we have a reduced squad but we are adapting, they were already reduced in Sevilla and we were able to win “, said Gourvennec positively at a press conference.
The Lille group for the fifth day of @ChampionsLeague
Your seats for #LOSCSAL
↪ https://t.co/ctIx9iqwLF pic.twitter.com/m3kdNqMsJ4– LOSC (@losclive) November 22, 2021
The Lille coach also mentioned the cases of Renato Sanches and Jonathan Bamba, both absent in Monaco and still uncertain for the reception on Tuesday. “We don’t know yet, we still have until tomorrow to find out” evacuated Gourvennec.
A less dashing Salzburg than in the first leg
In the first leg, Wednesday, September 29, Lille lost 2-1 in Austria. Two goals conceded on penalties offered to young Karim Adeyemi. Shortly after the hour mark, Burak Yilmaz saved his family’s honor with a goal from a free kick. Too late and too little to try to bring back something from this displacement. It is their only defeat during this European campaign.
At the time, RB Salzburg were riding a very good dynamic of nine consecutive wins in their domestic championship. If they occupy the leading position in the Austrian Bundesliga as in the Champions League, the players of Matthias jaissle have fallen into line by conceding three draws and one defeat (in C1 against Wolfsburg). “I think Lille are even more under pressure than us and I expect this team to be even more offensive than the first leg”, whispered the coach of Salzburg at a press conference.
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Karim Adeyemi, the young goalscorer to watch
In the Red Bull galaxy, finding talent is a daily job. If he was born in Munich and played there between the ages of ten and twelve, it was in Austria that Ayedemi turned professional. In Salzburg since 2018, the young man (19) is signing his best season. With 15 goals in 23 appearances in all competitions, he is his team’s top scorer.
Back to back pic.twitter.com/ykK24diy0g
– Karim Adeyemi (@karim_adeyemi) September 30, 2021
In the Champions League, the German has already been decisive four times (three goals, one assist). While he honored his first capes with the Mannschaft in September, the biggest European teams are interested in him.