Officially launched in their Champions League campaign, the eighth in their history, LOSC were surpassed by the Lions of Sporting CP this Tuesday in Lisbon (2-0). Here are the marks that we attribute to the Dogues following this result.
Knight (5): As he has been since the beginning of the season, the Lille goalkeeper sometimes showed clumsiness in his restarts, a fault that he seemed to have erased during the previous season. Fortunately, this did not affect his game, which he concluded with three saves, a ball caught and a successful aerial exit. He won a decisive one-on-one against Gonçalves (28′) delaying the deadline, but then could not do much about Gyökeres’ opening goal, and absolutely nothing about Debast’s missile into the top corner for the second goal.
Diakite (4): His debut this season was enjoyable, but the three-man defence highlights some positioning errors and a faltering concentration. He was too easily erased by the pass to Gonçalves, behind him, when his poor clearance was at the origin of the action which resulted in none other than the opening goal.
Mandi (5): A small surprise reserved by Bruno Genesio, Aïssa Mandi was the least worrying in defense. Experienced, he tried to use his power and his sense of anticipation to compensate for the shortcomings of his teammates. His speed sometimes lets him down, but there is no secret. He was the only one to try to compensate for Benjamin André’s mishap in the first half, continuing in the same vein during the second half by providing support in midfield, where Angel Gomes (not rated) was sent off.
Alexsandro (3): The matches follow one another and are similar for Alexsandro, whose bad passes are the main starting points for the opponent’s chances, as evidenced by the opening score, which came from one of his risky “clearances”. This does not take away his fighting spirit and his aggressiveness, but it is far too little at this level.
Miller (4.5): A notch higher this Tuesday, preferred to Tiago Santos in a piston role, Thomas Meunier was constantly on the move, a force of proposition to open up spaces or offer solutions to Edon Zhegrova, who did not necessarily serve him. Defensively, the Belgian was sometimes caught in the back, but overall showed real solidity.
André (2): The Lille captain is unrecognizable at the start of the season, often out of time and caught out in his positioning. His glitch at the hour mark probably didn’t help, but his past confidence is greatly missed by the Lille collective, orphaned by Nabil Bentaleb. However, he must, even more so in this type of match, be the boss. Too much waste with the ball.
Bakker (4.5): For his first start with LOSC, Mitchel Bakker was full of good will, but technical errors often stopped him dead in his tracks. He had difficulty facing Trincao’s incessant runs.
Zhegrova (3): Sometimes capable of turning into a hero, Edon Zhegrova was muzzled by the Lisbon defense this Tuesday. The Kosovar often prioritized the individual option, abandoning potential opportunities offered by his partners, to come up against the local defensive block. He never weighed on the match.
David (3): Back at the forefront of the Lille attack, Jonathan David was only too rarely found by his teammates, often too far from the actions. He is the symbol of an attack in great difficulty, which struck for the very first time fifteen minutes from the end, when he was no longer even on the pitch.
Sahrawi (4): Starting in place of Rémy Cabella, Osame Sahraoui was very enterprising, trying at his level to bring some tone to a slow offensive line. Too alone, he nevertheless ended up fading and losing a few precious balls.
