Milan (AFP)
3-0 at San Siro!
Lille, with the manner and a hat-trick from Yazici, brought down AC Milan in their den on Thursday during the third day of the Europa League, ending 24 unbeaten matches for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Rossoneri.
This looks like a good habit for Lille which, with this well-deserved feat, signs the second victory in its history on the ground of AC Milan, after that of Claude Puel's team in 2006 in the Champions League.
Le Losc stretches its own unbeaten streak to twelve matches this season and above all takes the lead of Group H of C3 with one point ahead of the Milanese.
A perfect blow against the leader of Serie A after the points abandoned against Celtic at home (2-2) a week ago.
All Lille, up to goalkeeper Mike Maignan, decisive on the rare Lombard occasions, responded to the call launched Wednesday by Christophe Galtier: the coach had warned that it would take "a very big match" to bring something back from Milan.
But it is Yusuf Yazici the man of the evening with his three goals against Gianluigi Donnarumma, two weeks after a first hat-trick against Sparta Prague!
A penalty obtained and transformed by him (22nd), a powerful strike at the start of the second half (55th) and another in finesse at the end of a beautiful collective movement (58th).
And he was not far to put a fourth ...
- A liberating penalty -
The Lille had yet started at a slow trot, shy, even wait-and-see, perhaps impressed by an empty San Siro and an atmosphere not really at the party in Lombardy: the region is one of the "red zones" established from Friday in Italy with a new containment, lighter however than that of last spring.
But the opening of the scoring, on a penalty offered by Milan defender Romagnoli, changed everything.
This goal freed the Northerners, suddenly more enterprising and masters of the ball like a good Renato Sanches.
Already before the break, they could have taken off if they had better negotiated a few hot balls or found the frame (Celik, 31st).
Milan, for its part, showed almost nothing and could not count, this time, on a stroke of genius from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, still silent in the group stage of C3.
The Swede will have tried with a header (12th) and found on his way an excellent Mike Maignan with an overpowering free kick (25th).
At 3-0, his trainer Stefano Pioli preferred to take him out on time, no doubt to give him a little breath.
The French defender of the Rossoneri Theo Hernandez also tried things but his strikes missed the frame (19th) then found Maignan (38th).
Far too poor for the Milanese, whose multiple changes did not bring much, despite attempts by Ante Rebic and ex-Lille Rafael Leao.
The only regret for Lille, its striker Jonathan David, the most expensive recruit in the club's history, did not take advantage of the Milanese largesse to score his first goal, despite a big opportunity to 0-0.
This makes him a goal for the return match on November 26 in Lille.
© 2020 AFP