Analysis: Bruno Génésio working his magic with Lille
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One of the big stories of French football has been Les Dogues unbeaten run in Ligue 1 and their continuing improvement in the Champions League.
Lille have been making waves in European football of late, but they have also held a remarkable record in Ligue 1 in recent months. At November's international break, Les Dogues sit fourth in the table, and are currently on an unbeaten streak which runs back to the month of September.
Following their 2-2 draw against OGC Nice last weekend, Bruno Génésio's side are unbeaten in their last seven Ligue 1 outings. It is their longest unbeaten run in the division since October - December in 2023 (according to Opta). On 19 points, they are certainly hot on the heels of Olympique de Marseille for the all-important podium positions.
Blighted by Injuries, Génésio has still found a way
One of the significant narratives for Lille going into a packed Champions League campaign was their ability to deal with the increasing hardships of injury on the squad. There have been multiple key absentees who would have started in most, if not all of Lille's matches this season.
Tiago Santos is out and will be until the end of the season, Thomas Meunier, Ismaily and Samuel Umtiti are all also out and further limit Genesio’s options at the back. In midfield, LOSC were without Nabil Bentaleb, Remy Cabella, Ethan Mbappé, and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson. Even starwalt English midfielder Angel Gomes has had to miss several key games due to injury this season, despite being a shining light for Génésio's side.
Yet it hasn't stopped Les Dogues from performing on the European stage. LOSC sit 14th in the Champions League standings with seven points to their name. They have managed to complete several historic wins over European royalty: a 1-1 draw with Juventus, a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid, and finally a 1-0 win at home to Champions Real Madrid to top it all off.
"I think these results perfectly symbolise the strength of my group and the state of mind it's in. Today, we had around ten players absent. We only had 20 players on the team sheet, including three young players who have never played in Ligue 1. To be able to stand up to a very good Juventus team shows not only the quality of the squad, but also its state of mind."
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