Champions League Qualifiers: LOSC hold nerve to advance
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A late, late penalty converted by Jonathan David in extra time was enough to spare LOSC Lille's blushes in Turkey as Les Dogues scraped for a one-all draw against Fenerbahçe, despite going a goal and a man down earlier in the match. They progressed 3-2 on aggregate thanks to last week's 2-1 home win and will face Slavia Prague in the playoff round next week with a spot in the league phase on the line.
Bending, but not breaking
In a fiery atmosphere at Fenerbahçe Stadium, Jose Mourinho and his team were urged on by an excited crowd, and tried to play on the front foot, but it soon became apparent that his counterpart Bruno Génésio's hybrid five man system, with summer signing Thomas Meunier as part of the back three, was not to be trifled with. Save an early header by Edin Dzeko over the bar, Lille were able to keep possession early doors and in doing so suck most of the air our of the stadium.
Indeed, it was Les Dogues who had the better of the chances in the first half, with both Rémy Cabella and Gabriel Gudmundsson finding presentable chances. Lucas Chevalier would have to be sharp to come off his line on the break on one occasion, but the best moment of the half nearly saw Lille take the lead as Gudmundsson's cross for David almost found the back of the net, but the match would rumble on scoreless, a result that kept Lille set to progress.
78' I 🟡 0-0 🔴 (1-2)
Still about 15 minutes to play, still one goal ahead on aggregate.
Come on guys! 👏#FBLOSC pic.twitter.com/YrhdudBmER— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 13, 2024
heartbreak, then salvation
Both sides made changes past the hour mark, but even as the match entered stoppage time, neither had found the back of the net, with the second half producing less cohesive football from both sides. When a goal finally did come, however, it was in the most unfortunate circumstances and at the expense of Lille, as Bafodé Diakité put the ball into his own net, having failed to clear a desperate clearance by the hosts.
The match then headed to extra time, with two more new faces, winger Osmane Sahraoui and defender Aïssa Mandi, also coming on. The former looked lively in place of Haakon Haraldsson, but the veteran Mandi would be sent off early in the second period of extra time, leaving Lille to hope to reach penalties with ten men. As it happen, penalties would be decisive, but not in a shootout. Hoping to kill the tie, Lille saw the referee point to the spot after a handball, and David showed his customary sang-froid to convert and level the match on the evening, allowing Les Dogues to keep their Champions League dream alive.
REACTION
"It’s both for this kind of emotion that we do this job, but it’s also because of this kind of emotion that we age faster in this job. I think we had a very good first half where we showed domination and mastery. We lacked a little more conditioning and drive to finish our chance because I think we should have taken the lead... We know Jonathan’s sense of calm and we know the importance of skill and mental clarity in these moments. To tell you the truth, I didn't watch the penalty. I only just saw him take it, he took it beautifully. Jonathan is a lad who knows how to manage his emotions very well." -- Bruno Génésio to the club's website
Lineups:
LOSC Lille (5-4-1): Chevalier; Santos (Mandi, 81'), Meunier (Touré, 106'), Diakité, Alexsandro, Haraldsson (Sahraoui, 98'); Cabella (Zhegrova, 69'), André (c), Gomes (Mukau, 81'), Gudmundsson (Ismaily, 106'); David
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