And that’s all ? Not for Auxerre, which was dominated by Losc for a long time before coming back up and finally snatching a draw (1-1) this Saturday, at Abbé-Deschamps, during the 32nd day of Ligue 1.
A draw celebrated as a victory by Christophe Pélissier and his men. M’Baye Niang responded to Jonathan David, with both scoring from the penalty spot. In the championship standings, AJA is in 14th place and is above all (temporarily?) four lengths ahead of Strasbourg, the first to relegate. Lille remains fifth.
Both teams offered a lot of pace at the start of the game. Lille were the first to be dangerous, first on a post from David (10th) and on a missed recovery from Bamba, alone in the box (22nd). 10 minutes later, Mensah saved his home side after a good play from Zhegrova. Following, the Mastiffs were rewarded for their domination and scored the first goal of the game.
On a corner, M’Baye Niang lets his hand drag and AJA is sanctioned with a penalty. David took care of it – he who does not want to be left behind in the scorer rankings by Mbappé – and scored his 21st scorer of the season (36th). The Auxerrois had a perfectly orchestrated last chance but badly concluded by Raveloson, who preferred to pass his ball instead of shooting.
In the second half, the caviars of Angel Gomes finally gave nothing. And it was even Léon, the Auxerre goalkeeper, who saved the country after a decisive intervention on David (55th). And yet, the men of Christophe Pélissier pushed the Dogues to the fault. Served by Nuno Da Costa, M’Changama tried to dribble past Diakité before Cabella knocked him down in the box. M’Baye Niang, on the penalty, did not tremble and allowed his people to come back tied (61st).
Léon again made a decisive save 15 minutes from the end of the game after a header from David. Auxerre missed a final chance three minutes from the end of regulation time. Launched in depth, Abline found the giant Touré in the area but the latter could not resume. At the end of a rhythmic and pleasant match, the two teams leave each other back to back. Lille are marking time and are under pressure from Rennes (6th, three points from LOSC) while Auxerre continues its good return phase (20 points gleaned).