Lille advances to the quarter-finals without trembling despite a draw against Sturm Graz

After following the almost Marseille comeback at the start of the evening, Lille controlled their game to avoid such a scenario. Losc thus settled for a 1-1 draw against Sturm Graz in the round of 16 second leg of the Europa Conference League, Thursday March 14, at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. Enough to ensure a historic qualification for the quarter-finals of a European competition, thanks to a large 3-0 victory in the first leg in Austria.

In a tasteless encounter, Paulo Fonseca’s men did the job by opening the scoring with a breakthrough from Hakon Haraldsson, who found Tiago Santos behind (1-0, 43rd). Before giving Sturm Graz hope from a corner, with Tomi Horvat passing and Mika Biereth’s powerful header at the drop (1-1, 45th). A draw that sends Lille takes a further step in its European history, despite having won the Intertoto Cup in 2004.

A fully managed match

Paulo Fonseca took advantage of the clear advantage gained in the first leg to line up several players accustomed to the substitutes’ bench from the outset, such as Vito Mannone in goal, Ayyoub Bouaddi in midfield, Rémy Cabella on the left wing and Yusuf Yazici up front. Obviously implying a lack of automatism and a very big opportunity for Sturm Graz from the first seconds (2nd). The three outfield players still took advantage of the difference in level to show themselves, but were came up against Vitezslav Jaros, the Austrian club’s goalkeeper, author of five saves.

The entries of Benjamin André, Angel Gomes and Jonathan David at half-time did not change the appearance of a game being played in front of a sparse Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The 17,000 or so supporters present were only thrilled by a strike from Zhegrova (25th), a goal denied to Cabella (32nd) and a rebound from Yazici (70th). Lille will know their opponent on Friday, following the draw at 2 p.m.