Jonathan David scored twice as the Canada international helped LOSC Lille register a 5-1 win over Troyes on Sunday and extend the northerners' unbeaten run to six Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches.
THE MATCH
David became the first foreign-born player to reach 40 league goals for LOSC as the pair met for the second time in eight days following Lille's 2-0 Coupe de France win over the same opponents at the Stade Pierre Mauroy last week.
Paulo Fonseca already had a long injury list prior to kick-off and Adam Ounas' enforced withdrawal (8') inside the first ten minutes seemed to suggest the hosts might struggle. A Mama Baldé shot (10') — teed up by former LOSC man Rony Lopes — compounded that view, but instead the hosts took the lead.
Mohamed Bayo — starting his first game since August — burst onto a through ball from Angel Gomes and swept a shot beyond Mateusz Lis (16') for the opener. Edon Zhegrova, who had replaced Ounas, then struck a post (34) before David pounced to double the hosts' lead, firing home after Lis could only push out a Bayo shot (45+2').
The latter mimiced his strike partner when Lis did the same with a Timothy Weah strike shortly after the break (48') to take his goals tally to three in as many league games, before the Troyes goalkeeper denied both David (50') and Angel Gomes (57').
Baldé struck his seventh away goal in his tally of eight league strikes this season to give Troyes some consolation (65'), but Patrick Kisnorbo's side then saw Alan Virginus — who had just replaced Bayo — add a fourth for Lille and claim his first senior goal for them (75').
Rémy Cabella also came off the bench to send over the cross from which David added his second — and his 12th of the season — to provisionally pull level with fourth-placed Rennes and fifth-placed Monaco ahead of their Sunday games.
THE PLAYER: Mohamed Bayo
The summer arrival from Clermont seems to be putting his early teething problems behind him after seeing Fonseca put his faith in him for the first time in months. Involved in the hosts' first three goals, Bayo's partnership with David could well fire Lille to much greater heights this season.
THE STAT: 16
With four assists to go with his 12 league goals, David is — along with PSG's Kylian Mbappé — the only other player to have at least 15 goal involvements in each of the last three seasons.
