Doumbia double sees Brest hold Lille in thriller
A six-goal thriller in Brest was Sunday's curtain-raiser, highlighted by a double by Kamory Doumbia and Olivier Giroud scoring on his return to Ligue 1 McDonald's. Catch up on all the action with our match report.
Giroud is back with a bang!
Having lost key players like Jonathan David, Lucas Chevalier, Bafodé Diakité and Angel Gomes, Lille started this season ready to rely on the likes of Giroud, who started at the head of the visitors' 4-2-3-1. For Brest, there were no new faces saves goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki, who joined the club on loan from Monaco in the week.
As for Giroud, it didn't take him long to make his mark, as the veteran got on the end of a defense-splitting pass from Felix Correia and left Majecki no chance with a fine one-touch finish (12'). Lille had the bit between their teeth, and less than fifteen minutes later, they'd doubled their lead, with Hákon Haraldsson's pressure telling. The Lille attacker forced Brendan Chardonnet into a poor touch, and sprinted ahead of the defender to finish (26'). Brest would respond, though, as Kamory Doumbia made Lille regret not clearing their lines, tucking the ball in from close range. Brest looked to draw level before the half, and had several fine chances, but got no closer than Mama Baldé hitting the bar.
Giroud scores in his first game after coming back to Ligue 1 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/WDJm3L3b1n
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) August 17, 2025
Doumbia at the double
After the interval, the breakneck pace of the match continued, with Brest midfielder Hugo Magnetti forcing Berke Özer into a save. The Turkish international only postponed the inevitable, however, as Doumbia scored with a rocket into the top corner, just reward for an impressive spell by Éric Roy's side. Lille would take the lead back, though, as young midfielder Ngal'ayel Mukau bundled the ball home from a corner midway through the second half.
Brest weren't done, either, though, and with 15 minutes to play defender Julien Le Cardinal showed a fine bit of skill to finish off a ball over the top from Kenny Lala. In added time, Ayyoub Bouaddi had a glorious chance to snatch victory for Lille, but Majecki denied the teenager. After what was a fine match between two of the league's better sides last year, it was honors even, the match ending in a three-all draw. Lille are next in action next weekend as they take on AS Monaco in their home opener, while Brest will travel to Toulouse.
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