The standstill of Nice and OM, earlier this weekend, made one happy and he is a northerner. Thanks to its success on the lawn of Groupama Stadium, Sunday February 27, Lille carried out the very good operation. Solid if not brilliant, Jocelyn Gourvennec’s team was able to take advantage of Lyon’s mistakes, far too messy to hope to reverse a badly embarked situation after the visitors’ opener.
With a titular Ben Arfa, and visibly in legs, Lille attacked this meeting well. But the flashes of the former Lyonnais, back in the garden which saw him hatch, were quickly nipped in the bud. OL, better organized, took control of the game, without being particularly incisive. And, on an action with forty passes, Lille came to sanction this inefficiency. At the end of the Lille offensive, and after a cross diverted by Thiago Mendes, Gudmundsson threw himself in perfect timing to catapult the leather out of reach of Lopes (0-1, 35th)
Frustrating match for the Rhone goalkeeper, who had so far not been called upon at all and who was forced to fetch the ball from the back of his net. And his teammates didn’t help him that much after this opener: despite some breakthroughs from Toko Ekambi and Faivre, they couldn’t get the ultimate thrill across at Groupama Stadium.
More inspired in the second half, Peter Bosz’s men were finally going to be dangerous but they invariably stumbled on one bone: Léo Jardim. Imperial, the doorman of Losc saved the furniture in front of Faivre (57th) before releasing a new exploit in front of Paqueta (71st). And when, for the first time in the match, he missed a clearance on foot in front of the Brazilian who scored in the empty goal, the goal was canceled for an illicit charge by Paqueta on the goalkeeper (88th).
A contentious decision, as the fault of the OL midfielder did not seem obvious, and also heavy with consequences for both teams. Thanks to this success, not quite deserved but still worth three points, Lille overtakes its opponent in the standings, the Northerners now pointing to 8th place, two places ahead of Les Gones. Far from the objectives of the beginning of the season of the club of Jean-Michel Aulas so…