Lille won Saturday in Nîmes -

AFP

  • With 39 points, Lille is third in Ligue 1 at mid-season.

  • A very good course which can be explained by the rich workforce available to Christophe Galtier to get a place on the podium, the ambition of the club.

  • Even if the recent change of owner could mark the end of a cycle for the Northerner workforce.

Winner this Saturday in Nîmes (0-1), Losc has completed the first part of the season well.

Halfway through the championship, the northern club is third in Ligue 1, a small point behind the Lyon leader and tied with PSG (2nd).

For a team aiming for a place on the podium synonymous with the Champions League at the end of the season, Lille is well on schedule.

With 39 points in 19 days, or an average of over two points per game, Losc even has one of the best first games in its history in the 21st century.

Only Lille 2013/2014 had a better record (40 points) at mid-term.

“It's a very good course.

These 39 points are the result of a lot of work, high standards and the quality of a group that is hungry and ambitious, ”says Christophe Galtier, the Lille coach.

The Yilmaz top, the David flop

Slightly altered in the offseason, the Losc, who have lost only twice in Ligue 1, can welcome the arrivals of Sven Botman in defense and Burak Yilmaz at the forefront of the attack.

The Dutch defender, bought 8 million euros from Ajax Amsterdam this summer, quickly established himself in the central axis alongside José Fonte with whom he forms a formidable pair.

Up front, Yilmaz, a 35-year-old Turkish veteran, is the big offensive satisfaction.

Landed free this summer to compensate for the unexpected departure of Loïc Rémy, he quickly made his mark in the North as evidenced by his 11 goals in all competitions (9 in Ligue 1, 2 in the Europa League).

Statistics far superior to Jonathan David, his accomplice in the attack.

Snatched from Ghent for 30 million euros, the club's historic record, the Canadian is currently the big fiasco of the transfer market.

With two goals in 19 games, the 20-year-old striker is well below expectations.

A large workforce that is probably living its last months

Fortunately, Christophe Galtier has a very rich workforce that has allowed him to successfully alternate Ligue 1 and Europa League where Lille, second in its group, qualified for the round of 16 (against Ajax on 18 and February 25).

But this bloated group should quickly decrease.

Because the big maneuvers are underway at the northern club.

Very indebted, Gérard Lopez, president since 2017, had no other choice but to sell the club on December 18 to the Luxembourg investment fund Melvyn Partners.

Appointed president of Losc, Olivier Létang did not hide the fact that the trading policy was going to end.

And that the workforce of 55 professional players (38 players at Losc and 17 loaned players) would be downsized in the coming months for economic reasons.

More than this winter when everything will be done to keep a competitive team capable of looking for a place on the podium, major upheavals are to be expected next summer, once the season is over.

At the end of the contract in 2022, Christophe Galtier, recruited by Gérard Lopez and Luis Campos, could be tempted to look elsewhere.

While waiting for the end of the cycle, Losc hopes to continue its good season to the end.

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