Long led 2-0 by Aston Villa, Losc finally lost 2-1 in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa Conference League on Thursday in Birmingham. If qualification for the semi-finals looks complicated before the return match next Thursday at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, the goal scored by Bafodé Diakité at the end of the match can give them reason to hope.
Lille went through all the emotions for the first quarter-final in the history of Losc in the European Cup. Thursday in the Europa Conference League, Lille left with a defeat at Villa Park. Beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, the Mastiffs will have to be more realistic in a week if they want to overthrow the Villans and get their ticket to the last four (the winner will challenge the winner of Olympiakos-Fenerbahçe, 3-2 victory at the first leg) but the goal scored by Diakité at the end of the match gives hope before the return match next Thursday at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium (6:45 p.m. live on RMC Sport1).
Bentaleb: “It’s frustrating”
Under the eyes of Prince Williams, Lille conceded two avoidable goals at the start of each period from Watkins (13th) and McGinn (56th). The Northerners especially came up against Emiliano Martinez on numerous occasions. And when the Argentine world champion was beaten by a strike from Gudmundsson, the hopeful goal was invalidated by the VAR for a very borderline offside position. Authors of a solid performance, they were rewarded for their efforts thanks to a victorious header from Bafodé Diakité at the end of the match (83rd). A goal which completely changes the approach to the return match and which will pump up Lille before the second act. “We knew they were going to set the pace, we still controlled the match, it’s a bit frustrating,” Bentaleb commented directly on RMC Sport. “But it doesn’t matter, we’ll make up for it in the return match. “
Lille people too naive in marking
Lille started this meeting in the worst possible way. Naive on a corner, they forget Ollie Watkins. The Villans center forward, who didn’t ask for much, catapulted the ball with his head into the back of Lucas Chevalier’s net (13th, 1-0). Hard to swallow, especially since the Mastiffs are in control of the game. Opposite, Dibu Martinez, visibly very inspired as soon as he faces a French team, disgusts the Mastiffs in the first period by winning his three duels against Zhegrova, Diakité and David.
Returning from the locker room, Bailey allows Chevalier to also show the full extent of his talent on a dry strike from the Jamaican. In the process, Benjamin André is very happy that his intervention on Ollie Watkins was not sanctioned by a penalty. But by playing with fire, Lille was punished with a low strike from Scottish captain John McGinn at the entrance to the penalty area (2-0, 56th).
Diakité changes everything
On a serve from Yazici, Gudmundsson believes he equalizes but after a long wait, the VAR does not validate the Lille goal for a very limited offside position. It’s only a postponement since Bafodé Diakité scores the goal of hope with a nice header after a corner (2-1, 83rd). Looking forward to next Thursday.
