Recap: Giroud on target as LOSC romp in Ancelotti debut
LOSC started their 2026/27 Ligue 1 McDonald's campaign off with a win, edging Angers 2-0 at the Stade Raymond Kopa. Get the latest with the Ligue 1 McDonald's team.
No Bouaddi, no problem
There will surely have been no small amount of expectancy around Davide Ancelotti taking charge of his first professional match for Lille, who opened Sunday's action with a trip to face Angers. His debut was tempered somewhat by the announcement that Ayyoub Bouaddi -- who was held out of the squad -- would indeed complete a move Manchester City, but against an over-matched Angers, the visitors nonetheless started brightly.
Playing in an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 with Ngal'ayel Mukau partnering Nabil Bentaleb in defensive midfield, Lille were without a raft of key players aside from the young Moroccan, with Benjamin André and Matias Fernández-Pardo suspended and summer signing Tanguy Nianzou injured. They nonetheless started sharply, with Ethan Mbappé forcing a save from Anthony Lopes early doors (10'), but the veteran 'keeper should have done better with Olivier Giroud's shot from the edge of the area as the Frenchman picked out the bottom corner with ease.
Lille defeated Angers in their Ligue 1 2026/27 debut 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/6cwu5dTCQC
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) August 23, 2026
"The Players deserved this win"
Despite what was a narrow margin, the result was rarely in doubt from that point. Angers had a couple dangerous moment, but Lille would all but seal the result with half an hour played, as Tiago Santos prodded home a rebound to make it 2-0. Angers would have a few speculative efforts in the second half, but as it was Berke Özer's saves would make the difference. Haakon Harladsson had a pair of chances in the second half, but a double save from Lopes would deny the Lille playmaker, leaving 2-0 the final margin, with Santos later denied a double by the offside flag.
Speaking post-match, Ancelotti was effusive in his praise of his squad, saying, "I’m happy with the result, the performance, the state of mind. I think the players deserved this win, we worked well together... We have shown maturity and strength." Next up for Ancelotti and his charges is a rather more challenging fixture, as they'll welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Stade-Pierre Mauroy on Friday.
The stat: 5
Olivier Giroud became Ligue 1's fifth-oldest goalscorer of the modern era at the age of 39 years and 327 days.
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