A historic qualification for Losc! By securing the draw this Thursday evening against Sturm Graz (1-1) at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, Lille qualified for the first time in their history for the quarter-finals of a European competition.
Until now, the northern club remained on six eliminations in the round of 16 of European competitions, including five in the UEFA Cup or the Europa League, and one in the Champions League. Resounding winner of the eighth leg (3-0), Lille only had to validate their qualification at home.
𝑸𝑼𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑭𝑰𝑬́𝑺 𝑬𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑺 🏆
A big victory on the first leg, a draw on the return leg and a great first in the history of LOSC: Les Dogues will see the quarter-finals of a European competition 👏
See you tomorrow for the draw 🔜#LOSCST 1-1 I 90′
— LOSC (@losclive) March 14, 2024
“It’s a good thing, the objective has been achieved but it’s not over, we want to go to the end,” commented Rémy Cabella on RMC Sport. The most important thing is to get through it and go as far as possible. (…) I would have preferred us to win this evening but we are qualified. We have a very good team but we will take it game by game, I know we have the potential to do something. We believe in. »
Despite a scare at the very start of the match with a good chance from the Austrians, Paulo Fonseca’s men quickly took the lead in this part. Yusuf Yazici, served by Rémy Cabella, even thought he opened the score in the 31st minute but was ultimately denied the goal for an offside position. About ten minutes later, Tiago Santos confirmed Lille’s domination with a low strike (43rd).
Three French clubs in quarterfinals, a first since 2004
But Sturm Graz took advantage of a marking error by the Lille defense to quickly get back into the game. From a corner, Gregory Wüthrich inherited a ball handed over by Orvat, forgotten at the far post, and allowed his team to equalize.
Without panicking after returning from the locker room, nor creating any new big chances, the Mastiffs patiently and calmly awaited their qualification for the next round. With the qualification of Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, that of Olympique de Marseille in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and therefore that of Losc in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, France still has three clubs competing in European competitions. A first since 2004.
