Recap: Gudmundsson and Abline Score in Lille-Nantes Draw

It was a challenging start for Lille as they would lose Matias Fernandez-Pardo to injury as the 19-year-old left the contest in the 10th minute with Osame Sahraoui replacing him.

Despite the setback, LOSC opened the scoring late in the first half thanks to a goal from Gabriel Gudmundsson in the 40th minute. The 25-year-old scored on a right-footed shot from the center of the box to open the scoring and give the home side the advantage.

Nantes would get themself back into the contest after Mostafa Mohamed drew a foul inside the penalty box. Matthis Abline stepped into the box and converted the penalty kick shot to level the scoring 1-1.

Lille recorded eight total shots while Nantes countered with three in the final 45 minutes, but neither side would find the go-ahead goal. In his debut for Les Canaris, Anthony Lopes made two saves, both coming from inside the box.

After the draw, Lille manager Bruno Génésio shared his thoughts on the result while speaking to the club's official platform.

"We want to keep moving forward, win games, and take them one at a time. Tonight was a chance to get off to a strong start at home since it’s the beginning of a new season. Unfortunately, we didn’t take it. We might have done the hard part by scoring first against a team sitting deep, but we couldn’t build on our lead or hold onto it."

"It’s disappointing, but it’s not unfair given how the game went. I think we lacked a bit more intensity in the second half, especially offensively. We seemed to settle for managing the lead, but you’re never safe from what happened—a set piece or a mistake can change everything. We need to give 100% in every match. We did in the first half, but not in the second, and we paid for it—rightfully so."

The Stat: Matthis Abline finding his goal-scoring form

Abline is starting to find the back of the net frequently for Nantes as the 21-year-old has scored four goals in his last five matches across all competitions. If Antoine Kombouaré and his team want to avoid relegation, Albine scoring goals will be crucial in their efforts to remain in Ligue 1 McDonald's. 

 

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