Two minutes for a defeat. By taking a goal in quick succession and then a red card, Lille lost to Sporting CP (2-0) in Lisbon, and has started its Champions League campaign badly.
3 min
The northern club therefore starts again with the counter at zero from the Portuguese capital, and regrets in its luggage, with this end of the first period where it completely cracked, letting slip this Tuesday its hopes of starting the regular phase of the competition, at the José-Alvalade stadium. On the opening score, Alexsandro first made a confused defensive intervention, which allowed the Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres to recover the ball, before lighting a clear shot with his right on the pivot (38th). In dazzling form with eight goals scored in five league matches, the 26-year-old player was nevertheless the number one danger identified by Lille before the match.
Also readFootball: Real Madrid returns to its good habits, Liverpool wins in Milan
It was he who was once again the centre of attention two minutes later, when Angel Gomes mowed him down not far from the centre circle, receiving a second avoidable yellow card and synonymous with an exclusion (40th). The Dogues had not had time to recover from this first blow that they had just received the second. The British midfielder, a new international with the Three Lions, failed when his mission was to animate the attacking play of his team in the absence of Hakon Haraldsson and Nabil Bentaleb. Due to a lack of experience no doubt, and also of lucidity, the 22-year-old player hastened the fate of the match.
Only three strikes from Lille
The Lisbon club then doubled the score with a sumptuous goal, a shot into the top corner from thirty meters by defender Zeno Debast (65th). Neither Lucas Chevalier, motionless, nor any other Northerner could do anything to prevent this goal that will remain in the memories.
In attack, Lille were totally harmless, only managing two shots in… three attempts (compared to 19 for Sporting). They did however have a clear opportunity to reduce the score, but Rémy Cabella, who came on, came up against Lisbon goalkeeper Franco Israel (88th).
Before that, even when they played eleven against eleven, Bruno Genesio’s players did not worry the Sporting goalkeeper Franco Israel. They had the ball (53%) during a first period without intensity, but did not do anything convincing with it, a sign of their current lack of confidence. They arrived in Lisbon after three consecutive defeats in Prague against Slavia (2-1), which did not prevent them from qualifying for the Champions League, then against Paris Saint-Germain (3-1) and especially against Saint-Etienne (1-0) at the end of a very insufficient match.
There will be a lot to change, both in the game and in Lille’s minds, before the rest of their European journey, which will get much tougher in the coming weeks. A diabolical triptych now awaits them, with the arrival at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy of Real Madrid, the defending champion, a trip to the Spanish capital to face Atlético, another Spanish giant, then the reception of Juventus Turin.