The match: 0-1
LOSC’s great move. Lille won in Reims (1-0) and moved closer to Monaco at the top of the standings. Lille, fourth today, one point behind the men from the Côte d’Azur and two from Brest, took advantage, thanks to their reigning scorer Jonathan David, of a big (and rare) error from Yunis Abdelhamid to open the score. The Reims captain, absolutely alone, completely missed his back pass towards Yehvann Diouf which benefited the Canadian, immediately effective in his shot (1-0, 56th). The Canadian had another good opportunity in the first period: he took advantage of a good save from Diouf to resume but he hit too weakly (20th) on a goalkeeper who quickly got back on his feet.
In an ultimately very close clash, it took an individual error to change the fate of this meeting. Even if Reims tried to put pressure on its opponent in the second period, the team did not really create any clear chances apart from a narrowly missed header by Oumar Diakité (89th), one of the Ivorian heroes of the CAN . Lille was content to manage the Champenois perfectly, closing the axis well in front of a Knight who was concentrated until the end but ultimately not bored during this afternoon. LOSC can concentrate on the Europa Conference League which awaits them on Thursday in Austria against Sturm Graz. His players will travel with peace of mind with this first away victory in L1 since November 26 in Lyon (2-0). Enough to build up confidence.
The key player: Yunis Abdelhamid
The captain is much more often a Reims pillar than the one who brings about the downfall of his club. But the captain, without any pressure from an opponent, offered the winning goal to Jonathan David, who was quick to seize the opportunity. Abdelhamid, who recently learned that he would not be retained in the squad at the end of his contract this season, is not experiencing his best period in Champagne. The Moroccan then tried to place his header at the end but he was never found by his partners in the area.
The number: 12
After a very, very complicated start to the season, Jonathan David has found his cruising speed and is on point, with 12 goals, including ten since the end of November, just behind Kylian Mbappé (21) in the gunner rankings. He joins Alexandre Lacazette who was ahead of him on the podium last year (27 against 24 goals and 29 for Mbappé).
