Loïc Rémy has found his voice – and his scoring boots – at Lille
Much of Lille’s recent success under Christophe Galtier has been down to their unfettered, young and previously unheralded attacking players. There is plenty to be said about the improvements made by goalkeeper Mike Maignan and the steadying influence José Fonte has on the back four, but what has consistently caught the eye is their ability to play on the front foot, utilising the pace of Jonathan Bamba, Jonathan Ikoné, and, of course, Nicolas Pépé – their breakout star before he signed for Arsenal last summer.
Victor Osimhen has been their star attraction this season. The 21-year-old Nigeria forward – who was born a week after Kylian Mbappé – is jousting with Mbappé, Wissam Ben Yedder, Moussa Dembélé and Neymar for the Ligue 1 golden boot, having scored 13 goals so far. Osimhen joined Lille last summer after a solid but not superb season in Belgium with Charleroi, having previously failed to make a huge impression for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Renato Sanches, who also joined Lille last summer after his own difficult time in Germany with Bayern Munich, has also impressed this season – both in the central midfield role where he has starred for Portugal and also when he has played wide on the right to fill in for the injured Yusuf Yazici.
Lille’s young players are a credit to the club’s scouting department and have helped the side maintain their place in the top half of the table. But their results are not as convincing as they were last season, when they cruised to second place comfortably. André Villas-Boas’ threadbare Marseille squad have overtaken them in the race for second place and look likely to stay there, despite their surprising defeat to Nantes on Saturday.
Lille’s form this season has uneven, to be charitable. They finished bottom of their group in the Champions League (without winning any of their six games) and have been inconsistent in the league. Their home record remains strong – only PSG have won more points at home – and their defence is still impressively stoic, but they have not been able to stand toe-totoe with the other clubs chasing the Champions League places, as shown by their 2-1 defeat to Marseille last weekend. They have struggled on the road. They were hammered by Monaco in Leonardo Jardim’s last match in charge and even lost to amateur side Épinal in the Coupe de France.
Part of this is down to player turnover. As well as selling Pépé to Arsenal for £72m, the club also lost Rafael Leão to Milan, and Thiago Mendes and Youssouf Koné to Lyon last summer. Injuries have also played their part. Yazici was the club’s record signing upon his arrival, but a knee injury in December ended his season. Lille have also missed Timothy Weah, whose debut season at the club has been interrupted by hamstring injuries. The club’s relatively thin squad has been stretched by the demands that come from playing in Europe and advancing in the domestic cups.
Qualifying for the Champions League will be a tough ask. Although Lille are just one point behind Rennes in third place, they needed to be mindful of the half-dozen or so teams who are within striking distance, including a resurgent Monaco.
However, despite all the departures last summer, they did retain one key player in Loïc Rémy. The former Chelsea, Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace striker joined Lille in the summer of 2018 for a pittance, having failed to make an impression during a brief spell in Spain. He has become quietly influential in the team’s success, both last season and this season, scoring a surprising number of goals and propelling the team to victory when fatigue and inexperience might have been their undoing.
Six of his seven league goals last season came from February onwards. Once he replaced Leão in the starting XI, the team confirmed second place with ease, with his goal in their draw against Lyon particularly vital. This season he has scored 13 goals in all competitions. Not only does he finish moves himself – particularly in the big games when the chips are down, such as the winner against Rennes earlier this month and the equaliser against Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue – but he also uses his physical presence to help the pacey young players around him.
He also helps them by being an example. Along with Fonte and Benjamin André, he brings the squad maturity. When Lille lost to Épinal in the cup, he was quick to hold the team accountable for their performance, posting on Instagram: “A good sportsman must also know how to lose, but not in this way. Our performance this evening in no way reflects the ambitions of this club.”
Galtier has praised the 33-year-old for the way he guides his younger teammates, saying: “He has good humour and finesse in his relationship with young people. He welcomes them with open arms to advise them.” As Lille continue to battle for the top three in France – a new experience for some of the younger players in the squad – they would be wise to heed Rémy and his advice.
Ligue 1 talking points
• Another weekend, another win for PSG in the league. But that was not the full story in a difficult week for the club. They lost at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League; Presnel Kimpembe’s brother reacted to the defeat by having an ill-advised go at Thomas Tuchel (who was linked to a move to Bayern Munich); and Neymar added to the strife, complaining about how the club used him in the lead-up to the match in Germany. PSG beat Bordeaux 4-3, but it was a very complicated Sunday evening, with Thiago Silva going off injured and Neymar being sent off in the final minutes. PSG will need to be far sharper when they face Dortmund in Paris later this month.
• Lyon finally seemed to get things right on Friday evening, handily beating Metz 2-0 despite another missed penalty, this time from Maxwel Cornet. Fortunately for Les Gones, it was retaken and Moussa Dembélé converted. Houssem Aouar scored late on to seal the result. With Bruno Guimarães playing well on his debut and the team looking comfortable in a three-man defence, things are looking a little rosier for Rudi Garcia’s side before Juventus visit on Wednesday night in the Champions League. Perhaps there is still something to play for in the league as well, with Lyon within just seven points behind third-place Rennes with 12 matches still to play.
Ligue 1 results Ligue 1 table
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