The Lille face the English of Chelsea on Wednesday evening at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille for the second leg of the knockout stages of the Champions League. Beaten (2-0) in the first leg, the Mastiffs, who have nothing to lose, hope to create a sensation and will be at 300%, warns their coach Jocelyn Gourvennec. “It’s a competition where there are totally unpredictable comebacks and because it’s a particular perfume, it must give us even more strength to get there,” he argues before the shock.
“An extraordinary match” for Lille
This particular scent of the European Cup also forces the Lille group to “prepare to be there for a match which, for Losc, is an extraordinary match”, continues Jocelyn Gourvennec, “and let me know expression, to dream even bigger”. The coach, who takes over the PSG slogan, hopes for a better evening than that of the Parisians last week, eliminated after a terrible match against Real Madrid.
If the chances of Losc (10%) are slim to qualify for the quarter-finals, Lille can still count on their supporters: the Villeneuve-d’Ascq stadium will be full, with more than 49,000 spectators who will come to help the Mastiffs to achieve the greatest feat in their history. For this, it will be imperative for Lille players to score at least twice to make up for their delay.
Why Losc has reason to hope
The feat seems difficult, but not impossible. Only 6th in Ligue 1, Losc lost its best player Renato Sanches. But Lille like to surprise: they won the title of champion of France, the Champions Trophy and reached the final phase of the Champions League by finishing in first place in their group against all odds.
And the Chelsea club (3rd in the Premier League) is monopolized by the economic sanctions aimed at its Russian owner Roman Abramovich. On the contrary, Lille have their mind entirely turned towards this match, and as their coach likes to remind them, anything can happen.