Victorious over Bologna this Wednesday in Italy (0-1), Lille took a good option with a view to qualifying for the final phase of the Champions League before the last three days. A success embodied by Ngal'ayel Mukau and the good choices of Bruno Genesio.
Lille scored a great victory on Wednesday at Bologna (1-2) during the fifth day of the Champions League. A success in Italy which brings the Mastiffs closer to qualifying for the final phase and also allows them to dream of the top 8 and a direct ticket to the round of 16.
After the match, the players barely celebrated the victory before they had to speed up the return to Lille. The northern club's plane arrived at around 3:30 a.m. in the north of France. With this express return, the ambition of Lille is to recover as quickly as possible in order to plan for the trip to Montpellier on Sunday, during the 13th day of Ligue 1.
>> Relive the Bologna-Lille match (1-2)
A surprise hero that Lille almost missed
Elected player of the match after his victorious double, Ngal'ayel Mukau was acclaimed by the 500 LOSC supporters who came to Bologna. Nicknamed 'Gala' by the staff and his teammates, the young Mukau barely had time to express his joy in the locker room with his trophy in hand before he had to head to the mixed zone to respond to the media.
“I'm very happy, we played well…I don't think I'm going to sleep today, plus I scored from the right”, rejoiced the main player during his appearance in front of the press.
Arriving from Mechelen this summer, the young Congolese midfielder was due to sign for Bruges during the transfer window. But Olivier Létang met him at the last minute in Antwerp and convinced him to join Lille. “What the president said to me was extraordinary, it touched me and my family,” Ngal’ayel Mukau even confirmed. For his integration into the Dogues, it was Rémy Cabella who took him under his wing.
Genesio won his bets
Used to playing alongside Benjamin André, Ngal'ayel Mukau nevertheless changed position during this trip to Bologna. Bruno Genesio took it up a notch to be closer to the usual serial scorer Jonathan David. A profitable choice since the Congolese midfielder scored his first goals with this double which did so much good for LOSC.
But the repositioning of 'Gala' was not the only strong choice of the northern coach for this continental duel. The symbol of this victory is the youth of Bruno Genesio's composition with Mukau (20 years old), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (19 years old) who gave an assist and the very young Ayoub Bouaddi (17 years old) already sparkling during the success prestige acquired against Real Madrid (1-0).
“I am very happy to see that young players are flourishing and progressing… what makes our strength is this alchemy between these young people who are very carefree and the experienced players who give us tactical stability” , even welcomed the Lille coach. Tactical moves and choices which therefore continue to bear fruit. Since August 6, LOSC has played 20 matches (including 4 to qualify for the Champions League) and remains on a very good run of 12 matches without defeat.
