Burak Yilmaz and Zeki Celik were on target as LOSC beat FC Metz 2-0 on Friday to ensure European qualification for next season, but coach Christophe Galtier is refusing to get carried away with talk of winning the title.
Lille were last crowned Ligue 1 Uber Eats champions in 2011, when Eden Hazard helped fire them to a first French top-flight title in 57 years.
Les Dogues proved their bite was as bad as their bark in beating defending champions Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 last Saturday, and they pulled a provisional six points clear with victory on Friday, although they were made to dig deep by mid-table Metz.
Mike Maignan saved a first-half penalty from Aaron Leya Iseka, and an hour was gone before LOSC opened the scoring through Yilmaz. Celik then added gloss to the scoreline in the dying minutes as the visitors took all three points from a game in which they only had nine shots on goal to their opponents' 18.
"We suffered a lot," said an exhausted Christophe Galtier after the match. "We came up against a very good Metz team. It was a very difficult start because Metz were quick and intense. It took a decisive Mike save to keep us in the game. If we'd gone behind it would've been harder.
"The title? It's still far away. And after the games on Saturday and Sunday, it'll still be a long way off. Tonight, we made sure of Europe, our objective has been reached. We'll now fight for the podium.
"With it being so tight we can fight for something exceptional. Let the players keep playing like this for the last six matches. I want to see determination and motivation, but the gravity of the task mustn't get in our way. We needed a good mindset to win tonight. Our position has to carry us. It does. I'm happy to be the coach of this team."
With 69 points after 32 rounds of fixtures, Lille have their best-ever haul at this stage of a season. All but one of the last 17 teams to have been top at this stage of a season have gone on to win the title, but midfielder Benjamin André is refusing to write off PSG quite yet.
"Regarding the title, if Paris is at the level of their match in Munich , it'll be difficult," he said of the capital club, who beat European champions Bayern Munich 3-2 on Wednesday. "But the important thing is to reach the Champions League. The more we win, the fewer points there will be to go around."
