Ligue 1: after its European feat, Lille falls back to earth

Difficult tomorrow for Lille. On Wednesday evening, Christophe Galtier’s men signed a monumental performance in the Europa League, beating AC Milan in San Siro with a scathing 3-0.

Three days later, on the lawn of Brest, modest 14th in Ligue 1 before kick-off, the Northerners broke their unbeaten streak. Still 2nd in the standings, Lille are five points behind PSG, winner of Rennes on Saturday (3-0). Here are three things to remember from Lille’s defeat in Brest.

Le Losc hadn’t lost for 9 months

We have to go back to February 16 to find the trace of Lille’s last setback. The Mastiffs were tilted on their lawn against OM (2-1). Since then, they have gone on 15 games without defeat. Of the five major European championships, Lille was one of three teams, with Wolfsburg and Sassuolo, still undefeated in all competitions. There are no more undefeated teams this season in Ligue 1.

The number: 1

Lille had never conceded more than one goal per game in Ligue 1 this season. Mike Maignan must have felt very lonely this Sunday on the lawn of Francis-Le Blé. Despite several parades, the French international (1 selection) lost three times, in the first period, against Ronan-Gabriel, Perraud and Cardona.

However, in front of him, Christophe Galtier had aligned the usual defense (Bradaric-Botman, Fonte), with the exception of Celik, suspended and replaced by Pied. The Lille rearguard has cracked, and this is rare: since its defeat against Marseille last February, the Mastiffs had not conceded more than one goal per game in Ligue 1.

The player: Burak Yilmaz plays her like Hazard

The only lightning in this sad afternoon for Lille: his striker Burak Yilmaz. Arrived this summer, the 35-year-old Turk meets all expectations. Substitute in Milan on Wednesday, this time he started the meeting.

Result? A penalty transformed then a goal of “fox”, well served by his compatriot Yacizi. This double allows him to be involved in one goal in his team’s last six games, a first since Eden Hazard in 2011. With six goals scored in Ligue 1, he comes one step behind Kylian Mbappé, top scorer in the championship.