Lille OSC weren’t fancied as they headed into their UEFA Champions League encounter against Real Madrid. Their league form under new manager Bruno Genesio has been middling, although a 3-0 victory over Le Havre AC, secured through a Jonathan David hat-trick, did provide a timely morale boost for Les Dogues.
However, LOSC were also without key players such as Angel Gomes and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson. However, Genesio’s men defied expectations. “Yesterday, in the press conference, you weren’t sure that we were going to win,” joked Lucas Chevalier (22) in his post-match press conference.
But that is just what they did. David scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy as Lille secured their first points of the current Champions League campaign. It was a momentous occasion for the LOSC players involved.
“In 20 years, when I will have ended [my career], I will be able to say that I beat Real Madrid at home. It doesn’t happen every day,” reacted France U21 goalkeeper Chevalier, who more than played his part in securing the unlikely victory over the reigning European champions.
For Chevalier, it is also a game that will go down in the French side’s history. “It is perhaps the greatest win in the club’s history,” he said.
