And Lille finally cracked: convincing and undefeated so far in the Europa League, Losc lost its last group game on the lawn of Celtic Glasgow (3-2), Thursday, December 10, and gave up first place in the group at AC Milan.
The Lille who had their destiny in hand to be able to keep the lead of their hen and thus face an opponent less relieved in the round of 16, performed a mediocre performance on the lawn of the Scottish team, yet already eliminated. Milan, winner in Prague (1-0), did not let the opportunity pass.
It is now teams such as Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Naples or even Bayer Leverkusen who are awaiting the Northerners on Monday in the draw …
Even if coach Christophe Galtier had left several usual holders on the bench, including defender Sven Botman, who entered the break, and midfielders Benjamin André and Jonathan Bamba, the Mastiffs had the weapons to win but they were too imprecise.
“To be much stricter”
“Obviously there is disappointment. We will retain the qualification, underlined the northern technician. You have to learn from these unusual mistakes. We have to be much stricter in all sectors because at this level it is not forgiving. “
After a first quarter of an hour balanced and without occasion, the meeting was packed in a few minutes. Celtic Glasgow opened the scoring with a corner from Turnbull headed to the near post by Frenchman Christopher Jullien (1-0, 22e). Losc reacted very quickly to equalize: after an overflow on the left side, Yusuf Yazici delivered a perfect cross for Jonathan Ikoné (1-1, 24e).
But, in the process, the Northerners were punished: Xeka lost the ball near its surface and Jérémie Frimpong infiltrated it before being the victim of an awkward tackle from Domagoj Bradaric. Callum McGregor then transformed the penalty (2-1, 27e).
After the break, Lille tried to react but struggled to worry the Glasgow defense, except on a deflection from McGregor who almost deceived his own goalkeeper (62e). Finally, the Losc managed to equalize by Timothy Weah, with a good volley on a free kick from Yazici badly repelled (2-2, 71e).
Nice still beaten
But the Mastiffs – who needed a success to keep their first place – cracked again in the wake: after an overflow on the right side, Kristoffer Ajer centered back for David Turnbull, who scored with the flat foot (3- 2, 75e).
This unique defeat somewhat tarnishes the beautiful European course of Losc, marked in particular by a superb success (3-0) against the Milanese at San Siro. To hope to extend their adventure in the spring, Lille will have to show a completely different face in the round of 16 in February.
For its part, OGC Nice, – the other French club engaged in the competition -, ended its European Stations of the Cross in pain by suffering a fifth setback, in Israel against Hapoel Beer-Sheva (1- 0). Coach Adrian Ursea failed to break the negative spiral of his team, a week after the dismissal of Patrick Vieira, while this trip to Israel was to allow the Gym to regain the taste of victory. This was not the case, and the results in the Europa League where Nice finished last in Pool C with three points, is catastrophic.
