Ligue 1 Evaluation | Has overreliance on Jonathan David value Lille’s Champions League hopes?
Lille OSC’s Champions League hopes took a big blow on Saturday night as they misplaced 2-1 away to Olympique Lyonnais. Management of the match had been of their fingers, as Bafodé Diakité opened the scoring within the first minute for Bruno Génésio’s aspect.
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Nevertheless, it will all come shortly crashing down for Les Dogues. The VAR noticed an infraction within the Lille field that had gone unnoticed by a lot of the gamers, as Thomas Meunier used his arm to dam an try on purpose from Alexandre Lacazette.
The Lyon captain stepped as much as the spot to equalise late within the first half, registering his eleventh of the season, whereas the seventh-minute substitute Rayan Cherki (on for the injured Ernest Nuamah) would offer his boyhood membership the winner within the seventieth minute.
On an evening when Lyon might flip to their bench and convey on contemporary choices like Cherki and Georges Mikautadze, there was the sense that Lille had no plan B, no alternative apart from to hope that Jonathan David would conjure up some magic and rescue them.
Can anybody blame Jonathan David?
Fingers itched after the match to search out somebody responsible, and even David, whose 14 Ligue 1 objectives this season have propelled Lille up the standings, discovered himself a goal, to the dismay of Génésio. His head coach cautioned, “I’m not going responsible a man who has gotten us out of a rut a number of instances.”
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Lille’s present predicament of three losses of their final 5 video games (throughout all competitions) shouldn’t be laid on the toes of their star striker. He’s the third prime scorer in Ligue 1 behind Ousmane Dembélé and Mason Greenwood and managed to search out the online seven instances within the Champions League.
With out David, Lille’s season probably would look vastly completely different. Nevertheless, that’s precisely the problem. Les Dogues have develop into overreliant on the Canadian worldwide when his present kind can not carry the crew. Of his 14 league objectives, 11 of them have been scored earlier than the Christmas break, with solely three coming within the second half of the season.
The results of this may be seen throughout Lille’s slim scorelines in 2025, as they’ve received solely three matches throughout all competitions by greater than a one-goal margin, whereas two of these video games ended with their opposition down to 10 males.
Accidents and transfers depart Lille dry
Lille can level to a number of circumstances that appear out of their fingers as accidents and disappointing transfers have impacted the squad. Edon Zhegrova and Tiago Santos’s prolonged spells out of the crew have value the membership two of their most inventive threats, whereas the arrival of back-up striker Chuba Akpom on mortgage from Ajax has completed little to ease the burden on David.
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Akpom had a promising begin, scoring twice in his first two video games in opposition to Le Havre AC and Stade Rennais, however since then, the Englishman has run dry. Génésio seems to have misplaced some religion, because the striker hasn’t been picked in a beginning lineup for the reason that 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on the third of March.
With solely six video games left within the season, the fear for Les Dogues is evident. They should go on a constant run of wins if they’ve any hope of enjoying Champions League soccer subsequent winter. Nevertheless, it’s unclear how they’ll handle to do that exterior of David discovering a brand new purple patch.
This week’s Ligue 1 sub-plots
For the third yr working, PSG have received the league. Nevertheless, that is removed from an extraordinary season for Les Parisiens. The membership are on track for a historic undefeated season in Ligue 1, one thing that has by no means been achieved earlier than in France and one thing that Luis Enrique is determined to attain. .
Olympique de Marseille returned to profitable methods after struggling three defeats in a row in an entertaining 3-2 victory over Toulouse FC. There have been issues that Roberto De Zerbi had misplaced the dressing room. A fear put to mattress by Adrien Rabiot. .
OGC Good’s slide continued with a defeat to Thirteenth-place FC Nantes on Friday evening. Les Aiglons are hitting a poor run of kind at precisely the flawed second and tumbled from fourth to sixth. .
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