When Lille won Le Championnat last season it brought about a great amount of pressure and expectation onto the Champions. Before they even had time to celebrate their success many sceptics questioned how they could possibly follow up such a dominant season.
Losing Gervinho, Yohan Cabaye and Adil Rami were huge blows and although new players were bought in and good replacements at that, there is always a chance they might not fit. As in-depth as your scouting network may be, sometimes moves just don’t work out.
Opening the season away to Nancy looked a winnable game on paper. Nancy had survived on the final day of last season and long serving manager Pablo Correa was gone, the new era under Jean Fernandez would also take time to settle.
Full-back Mathieu Debuchy opened the scoring for Lille in the second half and everything looked rosy until Franck Beria put the ball into his own net and Rudi Garcia’s side would start the season with a draw. It got worse when Olivier Giroud stunned the home fans with the only goal as Montpellier staged a smash and grab at the Stade Lille Metropole to bring back thoughts of the “August Jinx”.
Under Rudi Garcia the Montpellier result meant his record as Lille coach was 11-0 against French sides in the month of August. In fact his August record was one win in 14 games. Away at Caen the pressure was on, luckily one of the new boys stepped up to the task. Benoit Pedretti scored the opener and then played in Mathieu Debuchy for his second. Caen threatened late, pulled one back and then goalkeeper Mickael Landreau had to be at his best to keep Lille in the lead.
The three points took the pressure off a little, with the visit of Marseille next up it was an early test to see what Garcia’s new look side was made of. After taking the lead through Moussa Sow a sense of déjà vu took over the Stade Lille Metropole. Last season after taking the lead against l’OM the visitors, inspired by Lucho Gonzalez, came back to win 3-1 and inflict Lille’s only home defeat of the season.
Understandably when Mathieu Valbuena’s quick double gave Didier Deschamps side the lead, the murmurs could be heard around the ground. Not again. This was the test, what was this side made of, and what had they learned from the past 12 months. Well the answer is positive.
Dimitri Payet cut the ball back for Aurelien Chedjou to level the scores and then Rod Fanni brought down Eden Hazard in the box and it was up to Moussa Sow to score his second and give his side the lead. He duly obliged. To bounce back and show that this Lille side have grown up was a great statement from the home side.
Questions over whether they had what it takes to win a second league title or even finish in the top three were banished. The only question remaining now is whether this squad can cope with the pressures of both a domestic and European campaign and when CSKA Moscow take the field on Wednesday night we will get an idea of what this Lille team has in store for us this season.
Away at St-Etienne on Saturday night Lille came from behind to record a 3-1 victory. Two goals from Eden Hazard, his first two-goal game in Ligue 1, gave the impression that the Belgian wizard is finding his form at the right time. As he jinked his way past four opposition defenders and then placed the ball past Stephane Ruffier with the outside of the foot there was a sense that everyone watching realised that Ligue 1’s Player of the Year last year was still improving.
With the score at 2-1 to Lille it was time for Joe Cole to make his debut and buoyed on by the confidence shown by Hazard, Cole decided to show the Lille fans what he could do. His 35 metre run saw him glide past five defenders before cutting the ball back to Ludovic Obraniak and the Pole found the net. After a shaky start to the season, this side are beginning to purr at the right time.
Rudi Garcia showed on Saturday that he is no longer restrained to the 4-3-3 formation used for the majority of last season. With Joe Cole playing behind Moussa Sow Lille finished the game in what was more resembling 4-2-3-1 and there are thoughts that this could be the formation he tries against CSKA on Wednesday.
Regardless of the formation Garcia will use, the back four have served him well so far this season. Between the sticks will be 32-year old Mickael Landreau, the former Nantes and PSG ‘keeper has conceded five goals this season and will be looking for his first clean sheet.
In the centre of defence Garcia has a few decisions to make. Serbian defender Marko Basa is likely to miss out through injury and his partner Aurelien Chedjou could also miss out after injuring his thigh on Saturday. Missing both players is a huge blow to Garcia’s plans. The duo have started well this season averaging 14.3 clearances between them this season.
Coming into the defence would be Czech centre-back David Rozenhal and regular left-back Franck Beria. Even though he scored an own goal last time out, former Hamburg defender Rozenhal did make 10 clearances. Beria has had an up and down season so far averaging 1.8 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game.
If Beria plays in the centre it could see Laurent Bonnart make his competitive debut this season. Bonnart has played in the Champions League before for Marseille and could be the better option over young Pape Souare.
The one player Lille can depend on is right-back Mathieu Debuchy. The 26-year old is having an excellent start to the season. With two goals and an average of 3.2 tackles a game it is no surprise he has Lille’s second highest rating with 7.28 and his performance will be key against the Russians.
Upfront Lille are spoiled with talent, last year’s top scorer Moussa Sow will lead the line. Either side of the Senegalese striker will most likely be Dimitri Payet and Eden Hazard. Payet’s rating is down at 6.53 so far this season and it has been an indifferent start for the summer signing. Last season for St-Etienne he averaged 2.3 shots a game leading to 14 league goals, this season his average is down at 1.4 and it seems he is still trying to find his feet in the Lille system.
Of course the player CSKA will have to be most wary of is the Belgian international Eden Hazard. With a rating of 8.08 he leads Ligue 1 in this category. His two goals and one assist so far are complimented with 2.2 shots and 3.2 successful dribbles per game. His opponents know the danger he possesses which explains why he is fouled over 4 times per game.
When Florent Balmont and Rio Mavuba control the game from the midfield it is Hazard that makes things happen. He showed against St-Etienne what he is capable of when given the space to run at defences and he could find success against the Russians on Wednesday night.
It seems for the past few years the talents of Eden Hazard have been hidden away in Northern France. When he takes the stage against CSKA his talents will be there for the whole world to see. Can the young star step up to the biggest stage of them all?
