Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score in the 86th minute as Lille beat Lens 1-0 in the Derby du Nord at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday night. The win leaves Lille second in Ligue 1, two points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
Match facts
- Result: Lille 1-0 Lens (half-time 0-0)
- Competition: Ligue 1, Matchday 9
- Venue: Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq
- Scorers: Lille - Giroud 86'
- Red cards: None
- Attendance: 45,632
- Next: Bodø/Glimt v Lille, Champions League, Tuesday 3 November; Lens v Como, Champions League, Wednesday 4 November; Rennes v Lille, Ligue 1, Sunday 8 November (15:00 local); Lens v Marseille, Ligue 1, Sunday 8 November (20:45 local)
How the match unfolded
It was the first Derby du Nord between two clubs playing in the Champions League. Davide Ancelotti was without the injured Hamza Igamane, Ayase Ueda and Tiago Santos and the suspended Tanguy Nianzou, so he started 18-year-old Maxima Goffi at right-back and Ethan Mbappé, Hákon Arnar Haraldsson and Soriba Diaoune in attack. Yannick Cahuzac kept almost the same Lens side that beat Paris FC, with Thorgan Hazard starting.
Saud Abdulhamid was booked in the 10th minute. Lille had most of the ball, and in the 20th minute Robin Risser kept out Diaoune's close-range header from a Nabil Bentaleb pass. Diaoune had a penalty appeal waved away, and in the 33rd minute Risser saved his attempt straight from a corner before Diaoune hit the crossbar from the next one. Berke Özer saved Abdulhamid's shot from a tight angle after a Florian Thauvin pass, and Lille coach Ancelotti was booked just before half-time.
Risser stopped two Mbappé efforts early in the second half. Lens' clearest chance came in the 58th minute, when Thauvin went through alone but Özer won the one-on-one. Risser then saved from Haraldsson in the 66th minute.
Giroud and Dilane Bakwa came on in the 73rd minute, and substitute Calvin Verdonk's cross gave Giroud a diving header that went wide. The winner came four minutes from time. Risser pushed out Bentaleb's shot from 25 metres and Giroud followed up to finish with his left foot.
What does the win mean for Lille?
Lille have 18 points from nine games after following last weekend's 1-1 draw at Monaco with a derby win. Lens, who beat Paris FC 2-1 six days earlier, are eighth on 13 points.
What happens next?
Both clubs return to Champions League action next week, Lille away to Bodø/Glimt and Lens at home to Como. Lille go to Rennes, third in the table, on 8 November, while Lens host Marseille that evening. Lille remain without Tiago Santos, who suffered an ACL injury earlier this month. More results are in our Ligue 1 section.
Follow BetAlert: Telegram · WhatsApp · Discord — and check any betting account for free at BetAlert.