At the end of an incredible second period, marked by a history of penalties and contested almost entirely ten against eleven by the Auxerrois, the AJA snatched a point against Lille (0-0), Friday evening at the Abbé- Deschamps. The Northerners miss the opportunity to get on the podium and remain two points behind Monaco, while the Icaunais remain ninth.
Bruno Genesio’s men can console themselves by saying that they have just equaled the club’s 51-year-old record of invincibility (19 matches). But this draw has a real taste of defeat for the Mastiffs who lacked bite. Like these ten minutes of madness at the start of the second half. Between a penalty refused, a penalty awarded, an exclusion and parades at will.
A hero named De Percin
48th minute: Hakon Haraldsson escapes on the left, then collapses in the duel with Jubal. Gaël Angoula, the referee of the game, indicates the penalty spot. For almost 5 minutes, the video intervenes then the refereeing body decides to cancel the decision because the Icelander dived even before slight contact with the right hand of the Brazilian defender. The game has just started again… 55th minute: Haraldsson (again) misses a goal. But the video intervenes for a jersey pull at the time of the strike. Much shorter reflection and obvious penalty this time, Paul Joly is excluded (56th).
Auxerre – Lille in Ligue 1 on January 10, 2025.
Credit: Getty Images
Jonathan David takes the penalty but hits it badly, slightly to his left and halfway up. Théo De Percin, for only his second Ligue 1 match, intervened and took the entire stadium with him. The valiant promoted team managed to keep the score thanks to some exploits from the 23-year-old goalkeeper, elected man of the match. Not only in front of Haraldsson (64th), but also in the first period on a long shot from Benjamin André (9th).
On the other hand, LOSC pays a fairly incredible imprecision in the zone of truth. At the break, the observation was already the same: superior possession, domination in the middle, but no efficiency. The fault, perhaps, of Christophe Pélissier’s strategy, with a super compact block and a fairly high line of 5 defenders. Auxerre has the method to validate easy maintenance. While Lille can bite their fingers for not having taken advantage of the gift from Monaco, held in check in Nantes (2-2). They will have to be more clinical in these unbalanced displays (on paper) to finish, once again, in the Champions League.
