Honor is safe! After the defeats of Marseille, PSG and Rennes in the Champions League, then that of Nice in the Europa League in Prague, French football has finally found a smile.
Untenable at the start of the season, Lille, runner-up to PSG in Ligue 1, showed that he also knew how to travel outside the borders by winning with the manner (0-3), this Thursday evening, on the lawn of the ‘AC Milan on Matchday 3 of the Europa League. A historic performance. A real feat. Milan were undefeated in all competitions for 8 months and 24 matches. He had never suffered such an affront on his lawn during his many European campaigns.
We expected to see Ibra in his Zlatan works and actions, we saw Yazici. The 23-year-old striker was the Italians’ executioner on his own. Already author of a hat-trick two weeks ago during the victory at Sparta Prague (1-4), the Turkish international has again seen triple to the delight of his people. Seriously injured last season – rupture of the cruciate ligament of the right knee in December – Yusuf Yazici is now back at the top and justifies that Losc paid more than € 16 million to attract him in the summer of 2019.
Galtier: “my greatest achievement”
This is the second time that Lille has won on the Milanese lawn. 14 years ago, in December 2006, the Mastiffs won (0-2) in a group match without a stake in the Champions League (Milan was already qualified). A match that may have inspired Christophe Galtier’s players … Jonathan Ikoné is the first to get into action and speed up the Milan defense (20th). If he fails in the finish, the former Parisian Titi shows the way forward to his partners.
Moments later, Yusuf Yazici, pushed into the penalty area by a defender, gets justice on a penalty (0-1, 21st). The start of his festival. Rather discreet until then, Zlatan Ibrahimovic proves that he does not need to be omnipresent and to multiply the kilometers to be dangerous. On a powerful free kick at the entrance to the surface, the “Highlander of the lawns” forced Mike Maignan, who was already playing the short-lived Swede during training at Camp des Loges, to a reflex stop (25th).
But the great man of the evening is without context Yazici who zlatan Milan on his own. The evening hero can leave the lawn at the 80th with the feeling of duty accomplished. Lille, which is the first French team to win twice in Milan, takes the lead of its group. Ibra, released on time, who had often martyred Galtier during his Parisian years, did not fail to greet the Lille coach during a cordial exchange at the final whistle.
“That we can win in Milan, yes I thought so. From the moment the players decided to surpass themselves, I knew we were capable of it. After winning 3-0 …, welcomed the coach of Losc. On a personal level, I won European matches with Saint-Etienne, but obviously beating Milan who were on an incredible unbeaten streak is surely my greatest personal achievement as a coach. Yusuf Yazici? When you do a hat-trick, you’ve been exceptionally good. But he also had a lot of volume in the defensive front curtain. As for Ibrahimovic, I always enjoy seeing him, we greeted each other, and I told him that at 39 he was still a decisive and important player. “
Half time: 0-1
Referee: M. Frankowski (Pol)
Buts. Yazici (21e s.p., 55e, 58e)
Warnings. AC Milan: Romagnoli (83e); Lille: Xeka (36e), Celik (74e)
AC Milan. Donnarumma – Dalot, Kjær, Romagnoli (cap), Hernandez – Kessie – Castillejo Azuaga (Leão, 46e), Tonali (Bennacer, 61e), Krunic (Calhanoglu, 46e), Ibrahimovic (Rebic, 62e), Díaz (Hauge, 78e) . Entr. : Pegs
Little. Maignan – Celik, Fonte (cap.), Botman, Bradaric – Yazici (Yilmaz, 80th), Xeka (André, 65th), Sanches (Soumaré, 80th), Bamba (Mandava, 84th) – Ikoné (Lihadji, 65th), David . Entr. : Galtier.
CLASSIFICATION (Group H)
1. LILLE, 7 points; 2. AC Milan, 6 pts; 3. Sparta Prague, 3 pts; 4. Celtic Clasgow, 1 pt.
