Lille dominate Lorient to move top of Ligue 1 McDonald's

LOSC Lille delivered a dominant statement win on Saturday to move top of Ligue 1 McDonald's. Without Olivier Giroud, the Dogues turned to Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Houssem Igamane, both of whom netted doubles, while Haraldsson and Sahraoui also got on the scoresheet. The result sees LOSC climb to the top of Ligue 1 McDonald's, at least temporarily, after just three games.

Tight first half, then all hell breaks loose

The opening 45 minutes were cagey, with Lorient defending resolutely and Lille struggling to find the final ball. Keeper Kamara was alert on several occasions, denying Alexsandro (8’) and Haraldsson (45+2’). At the break, the score remained 0-0, but the stage was set for a second-half eruption.

The floodgates opened immediately after the break. On 46 minutes, Romain Perraud slotted home from close range after a lightning-fast counter to give Lille the lead. Lorient thought they had a penalty chance, but VAR intervened to rule it out (53’), only for Lille to strike moments later. Fernandez-Pardo doubled the lead on 53 minutes with a precise finish, and the visitors were in full flow. Lorient briefly responded when Tosin converted a penalty (64’) after Dermane was fouled in the box, but it was too little too late.

Igamane added a double (80’, 87’), and Lorient’s brief reply via Tosin’s penalty (64’) barely dented Lille’s momentum. Sahraoui completed the rout in stoppage time (90’), sealing a spectacular 7-1 win.

One of the biggest stories of the night was Hamza Igamane, newly signed from Scottish side Rangers. The 22-year-old Moroccan international, recruited from Rangers for around €10m, marked his Ligue 1 McDonald's debut with a brace after coming off the bench at half-time.

THE STAT: seven is heaven

According to Opta, Lille became the first Ligue 1 team since Lyon in 1997 to score seven goals in a single half of football. It was also only the second time this century that the club have scored at least seven in a league match (after their 8-0 win over Istres in 2005) — and the very first time they have done so away from home.