It’s an expected start to the game. Lille, foot on the ball, dominated the debates from the first moments of the meeting, without being aggressive. Faced with a Croatian team from Rijeka awaiting their new coach, Fonseca’s men showed too much imprecision to be dangerous. At the same time, the Mastiffs suffered the injury of Bafodé Diakité, hit in the shoulder after a bad fallout (5th). He was replaced by young Leny Yoro, who was impeccable in the first half. Despite this good start, it was the defensive sector that lost out on the opener for Rijeka (23rd). On a recovery in their own area, Galesic opened the game. The ball fell on the head of Alexsandro who deflected the ball… into the feet of Pasalic who lobbed Lucas Chevalier magnificently.
After this opener, the Lille suffered the game before regaining the hair of the beast thanks to the quarter of an hour of madness from Edon Zhegrova. The Kosovar chained the dribbles on his right side, embedding himself in the opposing box several times. He was the detonator of the Mastiffs in this half and his achievement in the 42nd, from the left side, was the fruit of the work done.
In the second period, Lille left in the same way as the match started. In possession of the ball, the depositories of the Lille game failed to find David in a striking position. The sequences were certainly more fluid but these did not end in a dangerous situation. Despite unchallenged domination at halftime and an ever higher block, Lille failed to find the little extra pass opening the doors of the opposing goal. To top it all off, Adam Ounas, known as much for his flashes with the ball at his feet as for his repeated injuries, left the field after 13 short minutes…
It was through the air that the salvation of the Mastiffs came. From the right side, crosses rained down into Rijeka’s penalty area. In the 89th, Ivan Cavaleiro, who entered during the game, sent a cross towards the penalty spot. Leny Yoro got up in the air and dropped the ball into the goal. Behind, Lucas Chevalier made the talent speak to release two balls at close range, in added time. The Lille citadel has not fallen and Fonseca’s men will have to finish the job in Rijeka next week.
