This LOSC definitely has some backing. Spanked last Sunday at home by PSG (1-5), Lille reacted well by winning this afternoon on the lawn of Montpellier 1 goal to 0 during the 24th day of Ligue 1. Long harmless against Montpellier enterprising, the players of Jocelyn Gourvennec ended up snatching the decision thanks to an achievement full of opportunism from his midfielder Xeka in the 76th game.
Still groggy from the bitter defeat suffered against the Parisian leader last week, Lille knew it had to react against another candidate for fourth place. Back to the wall after two consecutive setbacks in Ligue 1, the French champions quickly understood that this meeting at La Mosson would be far from a cakewalk. Worried from the third minute by the very restless Téji Savanier, Lille suffered a new alert at the quarter of an hour of play, Junior Samba also trying his hand at the acrobatic exercise of the volley (16th).
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Maintained in the match by a tenured Léo Jardim in place of the defaulting Ivo Grbic (the Lille goalkeeper had committed numerous dumplings against Paris), the Mastiffs would however continue to suffer, the twirling Florent Mollet throwing a new cold snap on the northern defense during a free kick quickly played by the Héraultais (24th). Hampered by an enterprising and rather attractive team from Montpellier, LOSC patiently hunkered down, waiting for a clearing which would finally occur shortly after the half-hour mark.
Lille’s perseverance paid off
Perfectly found in the back of the Hérault defense, the hitherto very discreet Jonathan David launched a first banderilla (32nd) on the cages of Jonas Omlin before being awkwardly imitated a few minutes later by Gabriel Gudmundsson (37th). Logically hooked at half-time (0-0) by solid Montpellier residents, the reigning champions put on the blue heater as soon as they returned from the locker room, Jonathan Bamba (47th) and Gabriel Gudmundsson (54th) signaling themselves with new breakthroughs badly concluded. More bloody if not really sharper, Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men had to wait until the last quarter of an hour to finally succeed in forcing the decision.
Coming very close to disaster a few minutes earlier when a center from Téji Savanier was involuntarily diverted by the hand of Benjamin André (60th), the Northerners managed to open the scoring twenty minutes from the end on an action initiated by this same Benjamin Andre. Alerted near the Montpellier area, the Lille midfielder saw his shot blocked by Mamadou Sakho maliciously recovered by his teammate Xeka, who was quick to crucify Jonas Omlin from close with a powerful shot under the bar (76th). Now in front of the mark, Lille had just succeeded the hardest in a meeting which was going to become irreparably tense as the final whistle approached.
Launched towards a potential first success in Ligue 1 since January 19, José Fonte’s teammates then did everything they could to not crack against the Montpellier surge. And they held on. Saved from a new penalty by video assistance (Benjamin André countering a cross from Téji Savanier with his arm in the 84th), the Lille residents even had the opportunity to increase the score, Jonathan David (89th) then especially Burak Yilmaz twice (92nd and 94th) being ineffective against Jonas Omlin. Winner by the smallest of margins, LOSC revived after two consecutive defeats in the league and at the same time recovered seventh place from their evening opponent. (with 34 points).
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