“We’re going to take the win. Lille have not lost at home for 21 games in all competitions (17 wins, 4 draws). Present in the mixed zone of the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium, Thursday August 24, after the meeting against Rijeka (Croatia) in the first leg of the Europa League Conference, the president of the northern club, Olivier Létang, did not want to dwell on the performance of his players.
For good reason: the Mastiffs won in pain against the modest Croatian club, ranked 134ᵉ in the UEFA rankings. Led by a goal from Marco Pasalic (24ᵉ minutes of play), they equalized shortly before half-time, thanks to a cross shot from the low left of Edon Zheghrova (43ᵉ). A header from 17-year-old defender Leny Yoro late in the game (89ᵉ) gave his side victory. Final score: 2-1.
Dominant if not realistic (19 shots, 7 on target), LOSC scared themselves. “We lacked humility, lambasted northern coach Paulo Fonseca at a press conference, pointing to the lack of involvement of his group, at fault for the opener. We didn’t fight hard enough to win and honestly I don’t like the game we had. »
The hope of a European qualification
“It’s a game we have to watch because we made a lot of mistakes,” added the Portuguese technician. Coming to support Fonseca’s words, Olivier Létang above all wanted to send a message to his players: “We didn’t like the attitudes. If we think it will be easy, if we arrive on the field being calm, we cannot pass. Is it a mindset issue? We’re going to talk about it with the boys, but that’s internal. »
Still, the success of this Thursday allows Lille to take a short advantage before a perilous return match on August 31 in the enclosure of the port city Rijeka. But to hope for European qualification, an objective proclaimed loud and clear at the start of the season – a banner displayed “Objective European Cup” before kick-off – Lille will have to show a completely different face to avoid the scenario that has suffered Olympique de Marseille against the Greek club Panathinaikos.
In addition to the defensive shortcomings displayed since the start of the season, LOSC is struggling to regain the offensive game, often flamboyant, which had been its strength during the last exercise: after two days of the French championship, the Northerners are in 5th place with 4 points (1-1 draw at Nice and home win against Nantes 2-0). The club will travel to Lorient as part of the third day of Ligue 1, Sunday August 27.