Lille dominate Slavia Prague and take an option on qualification before the return play-off

Losc dominated the Czech club (2-0) on Tuesday, thanks to goals from Jonathan David and Edon Zhegrova.

The road to the Champions League is open for Losc. At the end of a generally controlled match, Lille won the first leg of the C1 play-off against Slavia Prague (2-0), Tuesday August 20. On the pitch of the Stade Valenciennes du Hainaut, where the match was relocated, Bruno Génésio’s men dominated for a long time without managing to make the difference, before finally finding the fault in the second half thanks to an offensive line that found its efficiency again, and its serial scorer Jonathan David.

The release could only come from him. While the score was still blank after the break and Lille were coming out of a frustrating first half struggling against the Czech rearguard, the inevitable Jonathan David finally found the flaw. Well served by a sublime pass from Hakon Haraldsson, the 24-year-old striker came to deceive the opposing goalkeeper from close range, and put his team into orbit.

A goal that rewarded some activity and a great performance from the Canadian, semi-finalist of the Copa America this summer. Before finding the net, he had several big chances to open the scoring, on a curling shot just above the bar (29th) or on a missed shot after a shot pushed back by Edon Zhegrova (32nd). Often well placed, he had also failed to convert the offerings from his teammates (12th, 28th).

Already decisive in the tense extra time against Fenerbahçe, having coolly scored the penalty for qualification in the very last minutes (118th), Jonathan David confirms his importance in the Lille collective, he who is coming off two seasons with 26 goals in all competitions in the Dogues jersey, but whose future is still unclear. “There’s a good chance that I’ll still be in Lille. I want to be here, I have one year left on my contract.”replied the person concerned to the Canal+ microphone after the meeting.

In his wake, the Lille attack gained momentum during the match, driven by an omnipresent Rémy Cabella in the game. Edon Zhegrova came to score the second goal after outpacing the Czech defense (77th). Enough to protect the Lille team who trembled twice on two goals from Slavia Prague disallowed by the video referee (63rd, 79th), but who generally dominated the debates.

With this important victory, the Dogues are in a good position before tackling the return match, in eight days, on the pitch of the Eden Arena in Prague. With in their sights, a first qualification in C1 since the 2021-2022 season, in order to accompany PSG, Monaco and Brest in the discovery of the new formula of the Champions League.