The appetite of the Mastiffs
How legitimate given the quality of a balanced squad, performing both at Pierre-Mauroy and away from home, and also rich in individuals – most recently André Gomes, XXL joker – who could be decisive at any time and change the fate of a match. If Paulo Fonseca, chief architect of this group also capable of distinguishing itself on the European stage, has aroused envy and answered the call of AC Milan, his successor Bruno Genesio has managed, at the start of this season, to qualify LOSC for the group stage of the Champions League after having ousted Fenerbahçe and Slavia Prague from the main event despite the departure of one of his gems, Leny Yoro, now a Mancunian.
Player to watch: Edon Zhegrova
Confusing dribbles, lightning accelerations, delicious strikes, whether dry or wrapped; the palette of left-handed striker Edon Zhegrova, lined up wrong-footed on the right flank, is devilishly rich. His flashes of brilliance, his strokes of genius, his three goals which propelled LOSC into the Champions League this summer make him a decisive and thoroughbred player although sometimes falling into an excess of individualism and other sins of gluttony. Certainly a major asset for the northern team, representing a constant danger, a real poison for opposing defenses that the Kosovar international likes to challenge, ball at his feet.
The number: 2
Like the number of clean sheets that can already be attributed to the exemplary Benjamin André and his teammates. Only PSG, not without difficulty however, managed to break through the Lille lock and deceive the vigilance of the excellent last line of defence that is Lucas Chevalier, more of a candidate than ever for selection with Didier Deschamps’ Blues.
