There will certainly be one, potentially two French clubs in the round of 16 of the Europa League. Lyon, already assured of being directly qualified, ended its campaign with a great victory against PAOK (4-2) to consolidate its first place in the standings for this league phase.
For its part, Lille won in the last seconds on their lawn against Fribourg, thanks to a penalty from Olivier Giroud (1-0), and secured their place in the play-offs. Faithful to their campaign, the Niçois ended with an inglorious defeat at Ludogorets (1-0).
Lyon carried by his bottle class
Assured of a place in the top 8, OL brought out their second team against PAOK but did not sacrifice the victory. Aligned up front for the very first time, young Rémi Himbert (17) scored his first professional goal to become the youngest scorer in OL history in the European Cup ahead of a certain… Karim Benzema.
Trailing at the start of the match before Himbert’s goal, then reaching the score on the hour mark, after a goal from another young Gone, Khalis Merah (18), Lyon had to wait until the end of the match to secure the victory. Karabec, who had just missed a penalty, gave OL the lead again at the end of the match (3-2, 88th) before Alejandro Gomes completed the victory (4-2, 90th +3).
Immortal Olivier Giroud
Entering the game in the 82nd minute, he still took on the hero’s costume. By scoring a penalty in stoppage time, Olivier Giroud offered the victory which guarantees qualification for the play-offs at Losc (1-0, 90th +2). Lille, until now, had resisted against Fribourg, already qualified and reduced to 10 to 15 minutes from the end of the match. A draw would have qualified them, but a victory is always nicer.
The pleasure, on the other hand, is still not there in Nice, which ended its European campaign with a 7th defeat in 8 games, at Ludogorets (1-0). The Aiglons, 33rd in the general ranking with 3 small points, are leaving the competition through the very back door.
In the general classification, behind Lyon, we find Aston Villa, Midtjylland, Betis, Porto, Braga, Friborg and Roma. In the play-offs, Lille will face either Celta Vigo or Red Star Belgrade and, if they qualify, will find themselves in the round of 16 against Aston Villa or… Lyon!
