Opposed to FC Nantes this Saturday, LOSC continued to come up against the visiting defense while being too feverish on the defensive level. This is how his men were forced to be satisfied with the draw (1-1) and missed the podium.
On an unbeaten run of 17 matches in all competitions, LOSC spent the holiday period with peace of mind. The days of rest, which had to be counted (8), were still few in number as Ligue 1 resumed its rights this Saturday, with the reception of FC Nantes. This opponent could, however, become the perfect sparring partner given the current dynamic. The Mastiffs have simply not lost to the Canaries in the league for ten, or 17 consecutive games. The pass of 18 for two joint series? This was clearly the objective of this first meeting of the year. Has it been achieved? Response in 90 minutes.
The film of the meeting
Enough with the numbers, it's time to play. This is how the Mastiffs found their audience on the lawn of the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre Mauroy this Saturday, sealed under its roof while snow and ice threaten outside. The pitch was not slippery, but the impact imposed by the Canaries from the kick-off had the same effect on Matias Fernandez-Pardo, forced to come off injured (10′) after a bad shot from Nicolas Cozza.
In addition to this early exit, the start of the game gave LOSC the lead, whose men nevertheless struggled to appear truly dangerous against a tight block. Conversely, the Nantais did not hesitate to project themselves and two to three men were enough to make the Lille defense waver, like a strike from Johann Lepenant which narrowly missed the goal of Lucas Chevalier (23 ′). The Mastiffs were not far from opening the score on the following action, but Benjamin André was a few centimeters short, with his head then the toe, to hit the mark (24′).
Despite Lille's domination, the chances were slim and we had to count on an inspiration from Rémy Cabella to see the match change. Fully in his game, the last named entered the penalty area and took advantage of the apathy of the Nantes defense to unleash an attempt which ended up on the bar. Later, Gabriel Gudmundsson appeared in the box to open the scoring (41') and gave his team the advantage at the break (1-0).
The hardest part was done before the break, that's probably what we could say when we saw the 22 players in the game back on the field. A goal from Ganago, ultimately refused for offside (47'), set the record straight and reminded everyone that the Lille base was feverish. She proved it once again twenty minutes from time, with a gift offered to the Canaries. On the legs, Matthis Abline played against Alexsandro and crossed for Mostafa Mohamed, who collapsed following an error by Bafodé Diakité. The Lille player threw himself to counter a possible strike and his knee unbalanced the Egyptian in the middle of the area. Matthis Abline converted the try against Lucas Chevalier (69′) for the equalizing goal (1-1).
LOSC still had possession, but kept coming up against the Nantes defensive block. The chances could be counted on the fingers of one hand and the Mastiffs, led by Rémy Cabella, lacked efficiency as soon as they faced the opposing cages. The last named, in particular, could only find the outside net on a fleeing cross. Bruno Genesio's men will do no better than a draw (1-1) for their first of the year. He (still) misses the opportunity to get on the podium while AS Monaco, a few weeks earlier, lost against Paris Saint-Germain (2-4).
LOSC 1-1 FC Nantes (1-0)
16th day of Ligue 1 – Saturday January 4 – 7 p.m. – 41,635 spectators
But(s) : Gudmundsson (41′) for LOSC, Abline (69′) for FC Nantes
Warning(s) : Haraldsson (77′) for LOSC, Cozza (73′), Castelletto (89′) for FC Nantes
LOSC : Chevalier – Mandi (Meunier 87′), Diakité, Alexsandro, Gudmundsson (Ismaily 77′) – André, Mukau (André Gomes 77′) – Fernandez-Pardo (Sahraoui 10′), Haraldsson, Cabella – David
Coach : Bruno Genesio
FC Nantes : Lopes – Amian, Castelletto, Zézé, Cozza – Lepenant (Gbamin 90+2′), Douglas Augusto, Chirivella (Mohamed 63′) – Thomas, Abline (Pallois 90+2′), Ganago (Coco 82′)
Coach : Antoine Kombouaré
