Lille moved into pole position in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title race thanks to a 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday with a Jonathan David goal deciding a game in which Neymar was sent off late on.
THE MATCH
PSG came into the match ahead of their guests on goal difference, and there was little to choose between the pair in the late afternoon sun at the Parc des Princes.
Neymar was back in the PSG starting line-up for the first time in more than a month, and the Brazilian superstar might have given the hosts an early lead had he connected more cleanly with an acrobatic volley from Angel Di Maria's cross (7').
The former Barcelona man sent his effort wide of the far post; Kylian Mbappé came closer still when — after racing clear down the left — his low shot was touched by Mike Maignan, and the former PSG youth academy goalkeeper saw the ball flash across goal and narrowly beyond the far post (15').
It was against the run of play that Lille struck. It was another former PSG man, Jonathan Ikoné, who burst in behind Abdou Diallo and sent a low ball into the box where David had pulled away from the goal. The Canada international's forceful shot struck Thilo Kehrer en route past Keylor Navas (20') to take David into double figures for the 2020/21 season.
Maignan was again called into action when Moise Kean — leading the PSG line in the absence of the injured Mauro Icardi — sent a low cross-shot on target (27'); there was a change in the visitors' front line as David limped off with an ankle injury to be replaced by yet another ex-PSG man, Timothy Weah.
With Marco Verratti sidelined by injury and COVID-19, PSG struggled to find a link between defence and attack, and introduction of Julian Draxler for Kean just after the hour mark was one potential solution to that problem.
That left Kylian Mbappé to move into a central role, but it was Neymar who remained the most dangerous, sending a header wide of Maignan's goal (69'). Without Keylor Navas' excellent save (78') from Burak Yilmaz, who had started the game on the bench, PSG would not have even been able to hope right to the final whistle.
Neymar watched the closing seconds from the dressing room after a clash with Tiago Djalo led to both players receiving second yellow cards from referee Benoît Bastien as Lille moved three points clear in the title race.
THE PLAYER: Benjamin André
The Lille midfielder covered every blade of grass for the visitors, frustrating Neymar to the point that the Brazilian raised his hands to the former Rennes man in the second half and might even have been sent off earlier.
THE STAT: 3
Only Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan (2 defeats) have suffered fewer losses than Lille in one of Europe's top five leagues.