Match Reports
David powers Lille to narrow win
Distracted dogues?
This match, coming between the two legs of the hosts' UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, had the makings of a potential banana skin. Lille were still without Edon Zhegrova, Osame Sahraoui, and Ethan Mbappé, the latter having impressed in each of his past two appearances. Moreover, Lille had only been able to draw against Montpellier in the reverse fixture in December, and losses against Le Havre and Saint-Étienne have shown them to be fallible against teams from the bottom of the table.
From the off, Lille controlled the ball (they would have 78% possession over the course of the match), but quality chances were far and few between for either side. David had a chance on the turn after a quarter of an hour after being played in by Haakon Haraldsson, but his wayward effort failed to trouble Benjamin Lecomte. Montpellier would respond with a pair of half chances through Tanguy Coulibaly, but the best chance of the half would fall just before the interval to André Gomes, whose rasping shot from the edge of the area was punched clear by Lecomte.
22 goals this season for Jonathan David 🇨🇦🔥 pic.twitter.com/db8lYrjbt2
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) March 8, 2025
David finds the mark
The match thus was level at the break, but it wouldn't take long for David, as he has so often in closely-fought affairs, to make the difference. On 50 minutes, Montpellier struggled to clear a corner, and David smartly deflected in a powerful shot from Thomas Meunier to give his side a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Lille would have chances to double their lead through Benjamin André (55') and substitute Chuba Akpom (72') but Lecomte (six saves) was equal to both, keeping his side in the match.
Speaking post-match Lille manager Bruno Génésio was philosophical, admitting that with a shorthanded squad, the result was more important than the nature of it, saying, "Despite the difficulty we had in scoring the first goal, we were able to remain patient, keep a balance, and not expose ourselves too much to opposing counterattacks. In this type of match, opening the score is very important." That defensive solidity (Lille have the division's second-best defense) was once again decisive, and ahead of Dortmund's visit on Wednesday this will no doubt have been a boost for Les Dogues.
As for Montpellier, Génésio's opposite number, Jean-Louis Gasset was also optimistic, praising a solid match on the part of his team and reminding them that with matches against Le Havre and Saint-Étienne still to come, his side still holds hope of avoiding the drop. "I often have this feeling at the end of a match that we weren't far away. It's often said that it's the details that make the difference. And that's still the case tonight... I have no regrets tonight."
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