Lille miss out on Champions League qualification as Nice score late to break hearts
Lille knew that victory would secure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, while Nice had already sewn up fifth place. And it was the away side who got off to a flying start, taking the lead inside 10 minutes.
Jeremie Boga sliced through the Lille defence with ease before laying the ball on a plate for Gaetan Laborde to tap into an empty net at the back post. The home side had a great opportunity to hit back almost immediately following Angel Gomes’ whipped free kick into the box, but Alexsandro failed to steer his header on target.
Following this chance, the hosts struggled to break through the Nice defence, as signified by the fact that Les Dogues failed to hit the target in the opening 45 minutes.
The home fans filled the Stade Pierre-Mauroy with smoke during the interval and were bouncing 10 minutes after the restart, as Lille drew level thanks to Hakon Arnar Haraldsson pouncing on the loose ball in the box to fire home. The referee was concerned with the behaviour of the home crowd with the smoke filling the air, but play resumed minutes after the equaliser thanks to Lille’s captain Benjamin Andre having a calming word with his fans.
With the scores level and atmosphere tense around the stadium, tempers began to flare and tackles were flying in, as both sets of players knew what was at stake. Paulo Fonseca’s men clearly knew that a win was needed as Brest led 2-0 in their match, and the home side produced wave after wave of attacks on the Nice goal. And it finally paid dividends in the 74th minute, when Edon Zhegrova’s whipped corner kick was met by a bullet header from Andre.
With the lead in hand, the home side saw out the remainder of the contest, wasting time where they could in order to secure victory but it would backfire as Brest scored another swinging the pendulum once again, and then another blow as Nice made it 2-2 after Jordan Lotomba’s close-range header.
In the end, the draw along with a heavy Brest victory left Lille settling for a fourth-place finish.
Whilst disappointing in the circumstances, it is an improvement on last season’s fifth-place. While Nice finish the campaign in fifth with a place in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jeremie Boga (Nice)