Less convincing since the resumption and unable to win in the last two matches, Lille wants to turn the page by traveling to Lorient (5:05 pm) Sunday for the 26th day of Ligue 1. A meeting against a team that is fighting for its maintenance but in clear progress, whose physiognomy should be closer to the reception of Brest (0-0) than that of Ajax (1-2).
Sunday against the Bretons, the Northerners had confiscated the ball without knowing what to do with an opponent who came to defend.
Rarely threatened but unable to frame the slightest shot, they had logically been held in check.
A mishap after six victories in the Championship and one in the Coupe de France, which however confirmed the team's poor offensive expression in the absence of striker Burak Yilmaz, hit in a calf.
Four times winner 1-0 during this series, Losc kept its solidity but lost in flamboyance.
"Learn the lesson"
Since Thursday, the thesis of the slowdown has become more credible.
Beaten 2-1 and totally dominated in the game by a Dutch team yet deprived of several holders, the Mastiffs were first beaten in intentions.
“There is certainly the quality of the opponent but I found my team a little taken by the stakes and below its level on the technical level.
We didn't play, and we can't blame it on fatigue because Ajax is on the same pace as us, ”coach Christophe Galtier regretted after the match.
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"Is it an accident?"
I dare to hope so.
I believe in any case that we will have to learn the lesson, we must have much more control, calm and lucidity, personality in the game, ”he continued.
At the center of his reproaches, the non-respect of a very precise instruction: try to build the attacks, even if it means losing the ball in dangerous areas, rather than giving it back too easily.
Turn the page
While he thought to give a salty debriefing to his men, the technician changed his mind the next day.
"I saw my group very marked on Friday morning, which confirms that he wanted to do something but is aware that he did not succeed, and I preferred to project myself quickly on the match against Lorient" , Galtier stressed to the press on Saturday.
Especially since if the question of the state of mind is essential, the tactical issue will be totally different.
It's hard to imagine the Bretons confiscating the ball by raising their central defenders very high and pressing in numbers to recover it.
Le Losc will therefore find a well-known problem: successfully breaking through the low blocks.
Hoping to cause the error of the opponent, a situation which has led to many goals in the last few days.
“Since January 2020, we have worked a lot on defending by moving forward, trying to thwart the opponent's ball exits because that is where the team is out of balance,” recalled the northerner coach.
With the return of Benjamin André in the middle after his European suspension, he can count on a specialist.
An element that brings stability, and allows its partners to create danger.
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