Media365 editorial staff, published on Sunday February 27, 2022 at 10:38 p.m.
Olympique Lyonnais was dominated at home by Lille on Sunday (0-1) at the end of the 26th day of Ligue 1.
It was intense, indecisive, sometimes confused, and it was Lille who had the last word in the end. Between these two leaders who are blowing hot and cold this season, the stakes were enormous. OL, with their new armada, had every intention of getting back on track, just like the defending champions. This fight, it was the Gones who dominated it in the big widths. Lille realism made the difference.
It didn’t take long to see the match setup take shape. OL quickly confiscated the ball to afford long possession sequences and try to find gaps. Peter Bosz’s men only partially succeeded. They did not have a plethora of opportunities, but they could and should have won this match, on points, if they had taken advantage of their highlights.
Lille pulls off the perfect shot
The first act summed up the photography of the match well. Dembélé missed a huge opportunity at the start of the game, forcing Jardim to work (11th), as did Toko-Ekambi, who also stumbled on the Lille goalkeeper before the break (40th). But in the meantime, Lille had passed in front by only stinging once. On a tense cross from Xeka poorly appreciated by Thiago Mendes, Gudmundsson did not tremble to give the advantage to LOSC (0-1, 35th).
OL not varnished
An advantage that Lille defended with great courage and a touch of luck. Because when they returned from the locker room, it was the Lyonnais who once again pressed the accelerator. Faivre (57th), Kadewere (68th) or Paqueta (71st) in turn missed the opportunity to put the two teams on a par. The cunning Brazilian playmaker thought he would deliver his team on the wire by putting pressure on Jardim before scoring in the empty goal after the Lille goalkeeper’s failed recovery, but his action was deemed illegal and his goal was refused (88th). Despite a suffocating and tense end to the match, the score did not change. Lille climbs to eighth place and overtakes its opponent of the day, disappointing tenth.
