Thanks to a goal from Amadou Onana (41st), Lille, although reduced to 10 during the last half hour, regain their 6th place, 4 points from the podium before Sunday's matches.

The Nantes, who had not lost at home since early December, confirm their decline, the poor form of their attack and the black series of their defense with the exit of Quentin Merlin, hit on one foot.

For the men of Antoine Kombouaré, who nevertheless refuses to talk about Europe, the end of the season is likely to be long until the Coupe de France final on May 7 against Nice.

It could take the form of a sprint for Lille, which has recovered well after the disappointment of elimination by Chelsea on Wednesday in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

At La Beaujoire, Jocelyn Gourvennec had made three changes from the team lined up against Chelsea by starting Xeka, Angel Gomes and Timothy Weah.

In a hasty start to the match, already marked by numerous faults, the Nantes, uninspired as in their defeat last week at Troyes (1-0), struggled to get chances.

More enterprising, Lille opened the scoring shortly before half-time on a corner: Alban Lafont repelled a header from José Fonte but Amadou Onana, alone at the reception, concluded with a flat foot (0-1, 41st) .

Quentin Merlin, who should have covered this area, was being treated on the sidelines...

During the last half hour, it was Lille who found themselves at 10, after the exclusion of Weah for a foul on Samuel Moutoussamy, also hopped out (64th).

The decision of referee Pierre Gaillouste, after intervention by the VAR, provoked the fury of the Lille camp, captain Fonte even seeking to push his teammates off the field.

The tension remained high on the benches, where the sports coordinator of Lille, Sylvain Armand, insulted the referees before being pushed back to the locker room, but also sometimes on the ground.

Pushed by some 25,000 supporters, the Nantes people tried to take advantage of their numerical superiority, but the success was not on their side, like this shot from Pedro Chirivella which bounced off the left post, skirted the line and bounced on the right (67th).

© 2022 AFP