Champions League – Dream night for Lille, winner in Wolfsburg and qualified for the eighth

Historic evening for LOSC. Fifteen years after its first qualification in the knockout stages of the Champions League, the northern club won the second ticket in its history for this stage of the competition on Wednesday evening. Winners in Wolfsburg (1-3), the Mastiffs have also managed to keep first place in their group, which will put them in the most “comfortable” position at the time of the draw. Burak Yilmaz, Jonathan David and Angel Gomes left their mark on this magnificent evening. The German club, for its part, finishes last and will therefore not be entitled to the Europa League. Salzburg will accompany Lille in the eighth.

On the evening of the third day of this group stage, Lille had two goalless draws and one defeat in Salzburg. Two small points which foreshadowed a premature exit from the road. Almost two months later, the Mastiffs are first in their group, with eleven points, as many as PSG, which for its part finished second. It is obviously not a question, here, of comparing the two formations, and even less their adversaries in this campaign. But this sheds even more light on the capital performance that Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men have just achieved.

The good choices of Gourvennec, the pass of three for David

A Breton technician who was one of the main architects of this victory on German soil. His decision to start Gabriel Gudmundsson in front of Reinildo in the left lane allowed LOSC to manage the climbs of the formidable Kevin Mbabu for a big hour. Then, at the end of the meeting, the entry of Angel Gomes made it possible to kill the meeting.

The young Englishman was first a decisive passer for Jonathan David, with icy blood to deceive Koen Casteels and become the first Lille to score in three consecutive matches in the Champions League (0-2, 72nd). Then he turned into a scorer on a serve in good tempo from Jonathan Ikoné, six minutes later (0-3, 78th). Originally with a recovery from another entrant: Amadou Onana.

Before that, it was Burak Yilmaz who immediately put his people in good shape, at the conclusion of a service from Ikoné – already him – after a supersonic counter from a German corner (0 -1, 11th). For the rest, Lille had a few rare fears, on set pieces, with the aerial threat Wout Weghorst (28th, 42nd).

Lille managed

But in the game, the French champion was rarely worried, finding the happy medium in the height of his block and in the use of the ball. The reduction in the score of Renato Steffen, after a loss of ball by Renato Sanches, was anecdotal (1-3, 89th). The Wolves have, moreover, failed to strike on goal between the 46th minute of play, and the moment when the Mastiffs killed the meeting.

The sign of very good management, especially mental, of events. Lille has just chained an eighth meeting in a row without defeat, for a third victory in a row. And these are almost the most anecdotal figures of an evening which is already heavy without the history of LOSC.