Lille won on the lawn of Sturm Graz this Thursday evening in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa Conference League (2-0).
If Lille advances masked at the top of the table of the French championship, the Europa Conference League looks like a nice carrot for the northern club’s season. Despite its lack of prestige, this competition can generate great emotions.
French football, which has only two European crowns, is far too mediocre to snub it. LOSC is aware of this. It is with this conquering state of mind that Paulo Fonseca’s team approached this direct elimination phase.
David carries Lille
Sturm Graz was the first obstacle to stand in the way of Lille in this fairly clear picture. The challenge was clear: not to bow down to stay in a comfortable position for the second round at home. And the Mastiffs succeeded in their mission. They even did a little better than that by securing a valuable victory which allows them to take an option for qualification.
The light came from Jonathan David. The Canadian striker received a cross from Bouaddi to open the scoring after half an hour of play (0-1, 28th). Dominant in holding the ball, Lille were logically rewarded. And they managed to maintain this precious advantage in the second act, without causing any major scares, despite the Austrian team’s attempted revolt. Better, LOSC doubled the lead thanks to the inevitable David, author of an opportunistic goal after a deflected shot on the bar (0-2, 51st), before salting the bill with Zhegrova in the last 20 minutes ( 0-3, 71st). A job well done.
