Lille edge Lens in closely-fought Derby du Nord
Heartbreak for Ryan
Ahead of the match, the thought process was always going to be that this would be a challenging encounter for the visitors. Setting aside the pair's positions in the table (and recent history -- Lens hadn't beaten their rivals in six matches), Le Sang et Or would be without key defenders Jonathan Gradit and Juma Bah, the pair having been injured in training. Lille would have their own absentees in Alexsandro and Ethan Mbappé, but with Will Still's side already having lost Kevin Danso and Abdukodir Khusanov in January, this was a hammer blow.
Youngster Kyliann Antonio, making his debut at 17, started in Gradit's place on the left side of defence, and acquitted himself fairly well. It was ironically a far more experienced player -- goalkeeper Mathew Ryan -- who would make a calamitous error with the ball at his feet midway through the first half, allowing Matias Fernandez-Pardo to slip the ball past him for an early lead for Les Dogues. Ryan did rather better ten minutes later on Fernandez-Pardo's low shot on the counter, but Lens were unable to respond in kind, and Lille took their narrow lead into the break, with the young midfielder also having hit the post just before the break.
Fernández-Pardo is a nightmare for the defenders! 🇪🇸🌟
⚽️ 1 goal
🤏 1 shot to the post
🥵 3 shots on target
🦶 29 ball touches
🔑 2 key passes
💪 4 duels won pic.twitter.com/ORV42nIQta— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) March 30, 2025
Lille lock in for the win
Lens started the second half having not had a shot on target, and the dynamic of the match changed little over the next 45 minutes, even if it wasn't quite the one-sided affair it had been in the first. Just before the hour, Lens had what would be their best chance of the match, as Neil El-Aynaoui forced Lucas Chevalier into a flying save from a free kick, the 'keeper being decisive as he has so often in this fixture of late.
Still made a raft of changes, bringing on Goduine Koyalipou and Adrien Thomasson, as well as fit-again playmaker Anass Zaroury, but to no avail, as Lille held on for three points which see them move level with Nice in fourth, and ahead of Strasbourg, the eastern club dropping to sixth. Lens have now lost four of six, and their own hopes of European qualification appear to be fading, but they'll face a far more obliging opponent in Saint-Étienne next weekend, while Lille travel to face Lyon in a match with huge implications for the top four race.
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