Ligue 1 Finish Sends Lille To Europa League Qualifying
By: Julien |
3 Comments
Lille’s fourth place finish in the Ligue 1 table for the 2008/09 season clinched the club a spot in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round. LOSC finished with 64 points, but Toulouse’s better goal differential (+18 vs. our +12) edged fourth place for le Téfécé. PSG nearly claimed fifth place with 64 points and a +12 GD. It came down to the last match of the season for us and the Ligue 1 title. An exciting match was played at home against AS Nancy. Five goals were scored and Plestan’s late goal (75′) just barely gave us three points. It was a nail biting conclusion for Lille. Surprisingly, this year was very competitive in the French domestic league. Bordeaux, Marseille, and Lyon all had a nice run for the title. Lille finished two places higher than last season in the table under a new manager and a younger group of players. Next season Champions League hopes seem slim, but we can work toward continuing to develop our players and the new UEFA Europa League. In transfer news, several players are returning back to Lille from being on loan: Franquart (Le Havre), Makiese (Zulte-Waregem), and Taravel (Zulte-Waregem).
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FC Lorient vs. LOSC Lille Métropole Match Preview
By: Julien | Add Comments
The 2008/2009 Ligue 1 season is winding up and Lille is still looking for a chance to squeeze into a European spot. LOSC currently sits 6th place in the table with 56 points, just four points behind PSG in fourth place. After losing at home to Olympique de Marseille, the club wants three points this week against FC Lorient. It will be an away match at Stade du Moustoir. The line-up for tomorrow has been released:
Malicki, Butelle - Béria, Emerson, Plestan, Rami, Chedjou, Tafforeau - Balmont, Bastos, Cabaye, Debuchy, Hazard, Mavuba, Obraniak - Fauvergue, Frau, Vittek.
Surprisingly, right now there is actually a title race in France between Marseille, Bordeaux, and Lyon. Maybe, Ligue 1 can be a competitive league again. How are our northern buddies doing in France? Well Valenciennes isn’t too far from relegation zone, and rivals RC Lens are facing promotion and a title opportunity in Ligue 2. Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis.
Bastos Leads Lille To Victory
By: Julien | 3 Comments
LOSC played its 28th match of this season away against SM Caen. For a club in relegation zone, a win was a priority for Les Caennais. The play was fairly close between the two clubs for most of the match. Lille did appear better physically in the challenges, but Caen hung tough. Discouragement set in when Michel Bastos scored a late goal (60′) thanks to a defensive error by Boucansaud. Even then we just had a one goal lead with 30 mins remaining. The final score ended 0-1 in LOSC’s favor. Disappointing result for Caen as they conceded a costly goal on a poor defensive mistake. Les Dogues built on their 2-0 victory over Lyon at the Stade de France last week (which gave hope to PSG and Bordeaux). Today’s achievement pushes LOSC up to 6th in the Ligue 1 table with 49 points. Match facts:
Saturday March 14th,2009 - 19:00 H
Stade Michel-d’Ornano
17,506 spectators
Line-ups:
Caen
PLANTE
SEUBE (c)
BOUCANSAUD
BARZOLA
GOMIS
NIVET (66′ )
DEROIN
PROMENT
LEMAITRE
FLORENTIN
BEN KHALFALLAH (11′ )
ELUCHANS
SAVIDAN (66′ )
TOUDIC
LOSC
MALICKI
EMERSON
RAMI
PLESTAN
DEBUCHY
BALMONT
CABAYE
CHEDJOU (81′ )
BASTOS
OBRANIAK
HAZARD (83′ )
MAVUBA (c)
VITTEK
FAUVERGUE (61′ )
Cards: Proment (38′), Planté (61′), Deroin (75′) and Boucansaud (79′) for Caen – Cabaye (49′) and Bastos (75′) for Lille
Goals: Bastos (60′)
Coupe de France: Lille Eliminates Olympique Lyonnais
By: Julien | 2 Comments
Seven time (soon to be eight) Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyonnais were eliminated from the Coupe de France by Lille this Wednesday. It was a narrow victory for Les Dogues in the Final 8 of this year’s CdF (LOSC 3-2 OL). We only edged the French footie powerhouse (understatement indeed) by 1 goal thanks to a late goal from Fauvergue. Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard scored one goal and set up the two other goals for Lille. He had an inspiring match and continues to show a lot of potential. Hazard might even end up at Lyon one day like Keita, Bodmer, Puel, and many other players. I’m sure the two Seydoux can get together and make it happen. I mean what’s stopping them? Lyon was without key players for the match (Benzema, Toulalan, Lloris, Juninho) so it wasn’t a huge upset. It wasn’t a bad match to watch. Spectators were treated to 5 goals, a nice treat for a country not known for exciting domestic football (most people outside of France prefer the EPL, La Liga, Serie A). We face Olympique Lyonnais again this week (tomorrow) for a Ligue 1 match at the Stade de France. My prediction is 2-0 in Lyon’s favor.
Match facts:
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 - 20:45 H
16, 000 spectators
STADIUM LILLE METROPOLE
Line-ups:
LOSC
BUTELLE
EMERSON
RAMI
BERIA
CABAYE (52′ )
CHEDJOU
MAVUBA (c)
BALMONT
DEBUCHY
FAUVERGUE (79′ )
BASTOS
OBRANIAK (67′ )
HAZARD
VITTEK
Olympique Lyonnais
VERCOUTRE
GASSAMA
MENSAH
CRIS (28′ )
BOUMSONG (c)
GROSSO
EDERSON
DELGADO (77′ )
MAKOUN
KÄLLSTRÖM
PJANIC
PIQUIONNE
MOUNIER
Cards:
Mavuba (70′) for Lille - Grosso (7′), Pjanic (70′) for Lyon
Goals:
Bastos (22′), Hazard (45′), Fauvergue (90′ + 3) for Lille - Makoun (24′), Mounier (45′ +1) for Lyon
Lille Rallies From Behind To Edge Sochaux
By: Julien | 1 Comment
Lille’s 22nd match of the 2008/09 Ligue 1 season was played last Saturday home against FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, a club desperately trying to avoid relegation. They certainly played desperately by scoring two first half goals. Béria was to blame for one of them by committing a foul on Vaclav Sverkos. It was a frustrating turn of events (for Lille) considering that LOSC dominated possession from the start of the match. This would have been Sochaux’s first away victory this season (a rather abysmal statistic) had they fought on. Unfortunately for les sochaliens, all went wrong after Daf received a second yellow card at the beginning of the second half. Sochaux’s Richert helped tie the score for Lille in the 74th minute giving new life to the club. Hazard soon scored on a crafty play after overtaking two defenders. Performance wise no LOSC player really stood out (positively at least) in this match. Michel Bastos’ replacement, Hazard, at least scored a goal so that is something. The final score was Lille 3-2 Sochaux. We were saved from a devastating loss to a club on the brink of collapse. Match facts:
Saturday February 7, 2009 - 21:00 H
STADIUM LILLE METROPOLE
13,477 spectators
Line-ups:
LOSC
MALICKI
BERIA
TAFFOREAU
RAMI
PLESTAN
BALMONT
VITTEK (62′ )
CABAYE
OBRANIAK
MAVUBA (c)
HAZARD
CHEDJOU (90′ +1)
FAUVERGUE
FRAU (46′ )
Sochaux
RICHERT
CARLAO
PERQUIS
FATY
DAF
PICHOT
PITAU (c)
BOUDEBOUZ
SVERKOS
JOKIC (53′ )
ERDING
AFOLABI (68′ )
MAURICE-BELAY
SANTOS (77′ )
Cards:
Daf (9′ and 50′), Sverkos (45′)
Red card: Daf (50′)
Goals:
Frau (59′), Richert (74′, own goal) and Hazard (89′) for Lille - Pitau (34′) and Sverkos (40′, penalty) for Sochaux
Lille/Sochaux Match Preview
By: Julien | 1 Comment
Today, LOSC plays a home match against FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. It should be an easy win for Lille. Last week’s draw against Bordeaux should give our players some confidence. Kickoff is at 21:00H (local French time). I apologize that this blog has been pretty quiet lately. College has been very busy for me. I will have the post-match analysis ready tomorrow.
Line-up for Lille
Malicki, Butelle - Tafforeau, Vandam, Rami, Plestan, Emerson, Béria - Balmont, Bastos, Cabaye, Dumont, Hazard, Mavuba, Obraniak, Chedjou - Fauvergue, Frau, Vittek.
Injuries: Debuchy (ankle), De Melo (knee), Lyng (knee).
Lille vs. Rennes Line-Ups
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Rudi Garcia has to rely on Mavuba and Béria for tomorrow’s match against Rennes since De Melo and Chedjou are scratched.
Lille
Malicki
Debuchy
Rami
Plestan
Emerson
Balmont
Mavuba (cap)
Cabaye
Obraniak
Bastos
Fauvergue
Substitutes
Butelle (g)
Béria
Tafforeau
Vandam (or Hazard)
Dumont
Frau
Vittek
Rennes
Douchez
Fanni
Mangane
Hansson (cap)
Bocanegra
Br.Cheyrou
Mbia
Lemoine
Pagis
Sow
Briand
Substitutes
C.N’Diaye (g)
Aubey
Echiejile
Danzé
Leroy
Gyan
Kembo-Ekoko
Savourer La Victoire! (Savor The Victory): Nice/Lille Match Video
By: Julien | 1 Comment
Lille Takes Three Points From Nice
By: Julien | Add Comments
Yesterday, Les Dogues played their 18th match of the 2008/09 Ligue 1 season at Stade du Ray against OGC Nice. Lille played solidly against the home club. Despite most of the possession, Les Aiglons failed to really cause difficulties for Grégory Malicki. Offensively, Nice should have been decidedly better. It cost them the match as they could not answer Michel Bastos’ early goal in the 8th minute. Ludovic Obraniak almost added insult to injury by scoring a second goal, which would have helped seal the deal for the Lille. The score ended Nice 0-1 LOSC, a surprising victory for Les Dogues. I expected a draw, but Rudi Garcia’s squad pulled off a slight upset. After three consecutive draws, Lille gains 3 points. Our boys moved up one spot in the table to 7th, while Nice fell two spots to 8th. Match facts:
Sunday, December 14, 2008- 17:00H
STADE MUNICIPAL DU RAY
8,662 spectators - 52 degrees
OGC Nice
OSPINA
KANTE
APAM
HELLEBUYCK
MODESTE (58′ )
FAE
DIAKITE
ROOL (c)
JEUNECHAMP
ECHOUAFNI (36′ )
MOULOUNGUI
BEN SAADA
COULIBALY (58′ )
BAMOGO
Les Dogues
MALICKI
EMERSON
RAMI
PLESTAN
DEBUCHY
BALMONT
CABAYE
DUMONT (76′ )
BASTOS
OBRANIAK
CHEDJOU (86′ )
MAVUBA (c)
FRAU
VITTEK (25′ )
Cards: Rool (33’), Coulibaly (59’), Apam (61’) and Faé (93’) for Nice - Balmont (36’) et Rami (62’) for LilleCards: Rool (33’), Coulibaly (59’), Apam (61’) et Faé (93’) for Nice - Balmont (36’) and Rami (62’) for Lille.
Goals: Bastos (8′)
Ligue 1 Match 18 Preview: Victory For Nice?
By: Julien | Add Comments
I have been really busy with college so posting has been tough. Anyway, Lille’s 18th match of the 2008/09 Ligue 1 season kicks off this Sunday. Les Dogues travel to Stade du Ray in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, which lies in the beautiful Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France. Les Aiglons lead the series against LOSC 22-10-4. Lille has not beaten Nice since the year of my birth, 1989. The two clubs lie fairly close in the table. Nice is 6th place, and Lille is 8th with only 3 points separating the two. Also, both clubs have very few losses (4 for Nice and 3 for Lille). Nice has 3 wins in their last 5 matches compared with Lille’s 3 draws in their last 5. Now matches don’t always come down to historical statistics, but it is worth mentioning. I see a draw coming out of this one, despite Nice’s better squad. Surprisingly, Lille has hung pretty tough this season even with a new manager and a fragile as well as young team. We aren’t going to get much out of this season Euro-wise, but LOSC supporters can look forward to a possible return of the Northern Derby next season as RC Lens continues to fair well in Ligue 2. Les Lensois sit 1st place in the second division French football table with 34 points.
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