Finally, Losc is there. After having chased the prestigious and lucrative competition all last season, narrowly missing out on direct qualification, then having trembled until the end of the play-off for accession in Prague against Slavia, Lille will be able to taste the European jousts, their anthem, their stars.
“Unacceptable attitudes”
But the northern club will not be favourites in this first match at the Stade José-Alvalade, far from it. Lille arrive in the Portuguese capital with a few doubts in their suitcases born from their last three matches, all concluded in defeats.
First there was this match played against the grain in Prague (2-1 defeat). Mentally feverish from start to finish, the Dogues saw their goal slip through their paws, before catching it just in time.
Then Losc fell at home to Paris SG (3-1), which is far from shameful given the form of the reigning champion and its much superior squad. But Bruno Genesio's players gave PSG this match by committing three culpable defensive errors.
Worse, they failed on Friday in Saint-Etienne (1-0), despite being last in Ligue 1 before the match, by playing an ineffective, imprecise and insufficient performance.
“I am ashamed,” said the club's president Olivier Létang, referring to “unacceptable attitudes” in a surprising “rant” given the decent start to the season for his club, which is eighth in the standings.
Sporting in great shape
Lille therefore arrives in Lisbon in a negative dynamic, very far from the brilliant form of its first European opponent.
Leading the Portuguese league, Sporting have had a fantastic start to the season with five wins in as many games, scoring 19 goals and conceding just two. The Lisbon side struck a major blow by winning the clash against Porto (2-0) on 31 August.
In this team, one player stands out: Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres, who is irresistible on the national scene. The 26-year-old has already scored eight goals in five matches.
Opposite, Lille is still deprived of several key players, including midfielder Hakon Haraldsson, injured for several months and so valuable in the offensive creation of his team.
In his absence, some individuals will have to compensate, but it is the Lille group as a whole that must raise its level of play. Especially since this first C1 match precedes a diabolical triptych, with the arrival at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy of Real Madrid, the defending champion, a trip to the Spanish capital to face Atlético, another Spanish giant, then the reception of Juventus Turin.
