Lille (AFP)
Lille tackle the reception of Ajax Amsterdam Wednesday (21:00), for the fifth day of the Champions League, torn between a tiny hope of qualification for the Europa League and the thirst to store experience.
The Losc, which has only one point after four games, is already eliminated from the race in the round of 16 and it would take an unlikely combination of circumstances to finish third in group H, synonymous with the C3 round of 16.
Indeed, to not finish last of their pool, the Nordiques must beat Ajax Wednesday, impose on the lawn of Chelsea in two weeks, and count on two victories of Valencia, in Mestalla against the Londoners Wednesday and in Amsterdam during the last day.
Few people at the club or in the fans believe in this unlikely scenario, and the goal against the Batavians will be above all to look good and try to win a prestigious success.
"We have to be lucid, we will try to show a beautiful face, to do the maximum and especially to win the home game that would be representative of our desire to do well," said Lille midfielder Benjamin André after the debacle in Valencia (4-1) early November during the previous day.
In Spain, the Dogues had made a good match and led to the score until the hour of play, before cracking after the equalizer Valencian penalty.
All Losc matches follow each other and are similar this season on the European stage. The Nordists, who found the C1 seven years after their last participation, show beautiful things, but they are punished on small mistakes.
- "Our limit is experience" -
"On the two confrontations against Valencia (1-1 in the first leg, 4-1 in the return), we showed that we could compete, and then, high-level football, it's all about details. decisive in both surfaces, which we did not know how to do in the first leg, or tonight, "lamented the middle Benjamin André.
The finding was the same during the defeats in Amsterdam (3-0) and against Chelsea (2-1): the young Lille team, which almost all the workforce discovers the Champions League, is sorely lacking experience at this level and pay dearly to learn.
"Our limit is experience, these (European) meetings should allow us to gain experience, to improve in many sectors," said coach Christophe Galtier in Valencia.
In lack of confidence in the Championship where he has taken just six points in his last seven games, the Losc will be able to measure against Amsterdam if he has progressed in the last two months.
"If we could finish in front of our audience with a very positive match against Ajax, it would be good," said Galtier.
To titillate the semi-finalist of the previous edition, which will be deprived of its two central defenders holders, the Dogues will have to be effective and especially show that they learned from their past mistakes.
© 2019 AFP