Villeneuve-d'Ascq (AFP)
In the last four without trembling: Lille made its superiority speak to beat serenely (2-0) Amiens and join the semi-finals of the League Cup.
The Losc, who played in numerical superiority for almost an hour, made the difference after the rest thanks to goals from the Brazilian Luiz Araujo (50th) and the inevitable Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen (58th).
The Northerners reach this stage of the competition only for the fourth time in 26 editions after 2013, 2015 and 2016, when they lost in the final against Paris SG.
The players of Christophe Galtier were full of confidence before a delicate trip in the league Sunday in Dijon, where they will seek to start again in L1 three weeks after a stinging defeat in Monaco (5-1).
From the start of the game, the Lille took control of the operations and dominated the Amiens, who were however little worried.
The scenario is complicated for the visitors shortly before half-time with the exclusion of the South African midfielder Bongani Zungu, who receives a second warning for a sole on Jonathan Bamba (38th).
Upon returning from the locker room, the Mastiffs are quick to take advantage of their numerical superiority. It is first Araujo who opens the scoring a few seconds after shooting the post: on a corner, it is served at the corner of the surface and shoots from the left a superb shot which comes to lodge in the opposite skylight of Matthew Dreyer (1-0, 50th).
A few minutes later, Osimhen extinguished all suspense by doubling the bet: served in the area by Boubakary Soumaré, he eliminated Aurélien Chedjou with a hook and scored on the flat (2-0, 58th).
The last half hour is marked by an undivided domination of Losc, which however does not manage to increase the score despite attempts by Araujo (69th), Renato Sanches (76th) or Loïc Rémy, who finds the post (89th ).
Lille, who joined Reims, Lyon and Paris SG in the semi-finals, will know their opponent after the draw planned for Thursday evening.
© 2020 AFP