It's a highly anticipated derby, and they made it feel good.
Leader of the Ligue 1 championship ahead of PSG three days from the end, Lille was able to count on the support of its supporters this Friday morning, a few hours from the North derby which pitted it against its neighbor Lensois in the evening (21 hours).
Hundreds of Losc fans met at the Domaine de Luchin, the Nordistes training center, to greet their players before their departure for their hotel in Pas-de-Calais.
Smoke, songs against the Artesian rival and firecrackers: between 600 and 700 people, according to La Voix du Nord, accompanied the departure of the Lille bus.
Earlier in the morning, they noisily greeted the arrival by car of their protégés, including that of Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz.
FOR YOU ❤️ # RCLLOSC #DoguesJusquauBout pic.twitter.com/5doMUsyS1E
- LOSC (@losclive) May 7, 2021
And of course that's who the star is Burak Yilmaz.
#RCLLOSC pic.twitter.com/tb1jrkVMKD
- Sebastien Noé (@Sebastiennoe) May 7, 2021
The Lensois are not left out.
The day before, nearly 2,000 RC Lens supporters attended the last training session for Franck Haise's players, still engaged in the fight for a European place next season.
And who dream of depriving the Lille of a new title of champion of France, ten years after that acquired by Eden Hazard and his partners.
𝒫𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁'𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝓊 𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓉 ❤️💛 # RCLLOSC #rclens pic.twitter.com/focq4OnR9P
- Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) May 6, 2021
A prefectural decree was issued by the Pas-de-Calais prefecture before this high-profile match. “More than 200 police officers will be deployed at the same time. Lille supporters will be banned from driving in the districts of Arras, Béthune and Lens, this Friday from 6 am to midnight, explains the text, relayed by Losc. The Lensois supporters, for their part, are prohibited from traveling in the arrondissements of Arras and Béthune, this Friday from 6 a.m. to midnight. "
