Recap: Théo De Percin's Heroics Aid AJA in Draw vs. Lille

LOSC Lille and AJ Auxerre played to a scoreless draw on Friday night at Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps as the two sides helped kick off the first Ligue 1 McDonald's matchday of 2025.

In the first half, the home side recorded seven shots on target while the visitors countered with four. Despite the double-digit shots from the two squads, neither side could break the scoreless deadlock heading into halftime.

Lille had the opportunity to take a 1-0 advantage after a VAR check rewarded a penalty to the away team in the 56th minute. Along with conceding a penalty, Auxerre would be at a disadvantage for the rest of the match as Paul Joly was shown a red card following his foul on Hákon Arnar Haraldsson.

Jonathan David stepped into the box to take the shot and attempt to give Les Dogues a 1-0 lead. The Canadian fired off a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner but Théo De Percin saved it to keep the match 0-0.

In the second half, Lille recorded nine total shots while AJA countered with six, but like the first 45 minutes, neither team's shot found the back of the net to break the scoreless deadlock as the two squads took one point.

De Percin was the hero for the home side as he recorded five saves to go along with the penalty saved on David for his clean sheet. Lucas Chevalier also recorded three saves against Auxerre to record a clean sheet for LOSC.

After the match, De Percin spoke with DAZN about his performance since his save allowed AJA to take one point.

"There's nothing better. We're really enjoying it! We played a great match. It's my first home game in Ligue 1, and since I was trained here, it feels amazing."

Bruno Génésio also spoke postgame to DAZN as he praised De Percin and the opposition for making life difficult for his team.

"In football, you have to take your chances. You get what you deserve. Auxerre were heroic, they defended really well despite being down a man. Their goalkeeper did everything he needed to do. We didn’t do enough to stop him from performing. It’s really disappointing. I’m not happy with what we showed tonight."

"[David is] used to having stretches where he doesn’t score as much, he’s not someone who doubts himself. It’s up to us to keep working on our attacking play. I also think there’s the transfer window to consider. Whether it goes one way or the other, decisions will need to be made. I’ll discuss it with my president after the match."

The Stat: Lille's current unbeaten run

LOSC have the best unbeaten run in Europe with 19 matches. Atlético Madrid follow with 13 matches, and Bayer Leverkusen come in third with 10 matches. Liverpool's unbeaten streak ended Wednesday night in a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur after 24 games.

READ MORE:

>>Abline the hero again as Nantes hold Monaco in thrilling draw
>>Brice Samba: Stats that tell the story