Lille OSC made it four losses in a row across all competitions as they capitulated 2-0 to Sporting CP.
Lille became the first French team since AS Monaco in the 2015/16 season to earn their place in the Champions League through the playoffs. A visit to Lisbon would kickstart a nightmarish league stage that sees them face Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, and Juventus, before later booking a visit to Anfield.
Les Dogues needed to start brightly against Rúben Amorim’s men, and for the first twenty minutes, they provided a significant challenge for Sporting without ever threatening. Lille controlled more of the ball and were physical when their hosts’ attacked. Angel Gomes picking up a yellow card early on in the game seemed to set the tempo for how Lille would defend.
There were warning signs before Sporting opened the scoring in the 38th minute. Lucas Chevalier was forced into action when Viktor Gyökeres picked out the run of Pedro Gonçalves. However, the dam would eventually break. Alexsandro missed a header allowing Gyökeres to collect possession in the box. A one-two with Gonçalves gave him the space to take a shot.
Lille crowded Gyökeres, but the in-form striker spotted the gap and his shot slid through the crowded area. Two minutes later and Lille’s night would crumble. Gomes picked up a harsh second yellow. The England international went for the loose ball but clumsily struck the back of Gyökeres’ legs.
Lille worked hard throughout the second half but with the man disadvantage, it was always going to be an uphill struggle to get a result out of this match. The situation was only worsened for Les Dogues in the 65th minute when Zen Deblast doubled the score. It would take another ten minutes for Génésio’s squad to record their first shot of the game.
And a few minutes before the final whistle, Lille finally managed to put the goal into the back of the net. However, Alexsandro’s scrappy effort was ruled off for a foul in the buildup. The final whistle brought a close to a frustrating and difficult evening.
Lille player ratings
Lucas Chevalier, 6 – The great hope for the France national team. Chevalier proved once again that he is an exceptionally gifted keeper. The score probably should have been worse if not for him.
Alexsandro, 4
Bafodé Diakité, 4
Aïssa Mandi, 5
Benjamin André, 4
Angel Gomes, 2 – A terrible evening for a brilliant player. The midfielder had played well up until his clumsy challenge on Gyökeres. The red card felt harsh but the problem was that Gomes gave the referee a decision to make, it left his teammates in a terrible situation with the majority of the game left to play.
Jonathan David, 3 – The score is more of an indictment of the service provided to the striker. Even before the red card, Lille were struggling to find David. Sporting flooded the danger man and made every cross a lottery with no lucky numbers. By the time, he was taken off in the 64th minute Lille had not even managed a shot.
Sporting selected player ratings
Viktor Gyökeres, 8 – A brilliant evening for one of Europe’s best goalscorers. His ability to create the opener allowed for Sporting to take full control of this game.
Pedro Gonçalves, 7
Francisco Trincão, 7
