Ligue 1 McDonald's, Round 23, 22/02/2026
Lille OSC travelled to an empty Stade Raymond Kopa to play Angers SCO behind closed doors. Flooding from storm Pedro has affected Angers and prevented supporters from travelling to the stadium for Lille's narrow 1-0 win.
A familiar feeling began to take hold for Lille. They kept possession and moved the ball well, but as soon as they entered the final third, a sort of stage fright took over, leaving you wondering how they hadn't managed to score.
Gaëtan Perrin found Félix Correia in front of the goal in the sixth minute, but the winger couldn't get his shot on target from point-blank range. It was an effort that looked harder to miss. He was far from the only attacker who struggled. Matias Fernandez-Pardo had several chances to test Hervé Koffi , but each time the Angers goalkeeper came up trumps as the winger's confidence wilted and waned.
It would take a helping hand for Les Dogues to finally find the back of the net when Jordan Lefort brought down Tiago Santos in the box just before the half-time break. Olivier Giroud fired low and to the left, Koffi guessing the right direction, but unable to get a hand to the ball.
Koffi's performance didn't look to be affected by conceding when the teams took to the field for the second half. The goalkeeper pulled off a spectacular reflex save to deny Nathan Ngoy , who fired a vicious half-volley on the turn off of Perrin's corner.
Again, Koffi would be called into action, preventing Giroud from doubling the score off a header. He was keeping his side in the game, but down the other end, the Angers attackers struggled to take advantage of the lifeline as Berke Özer's goal was largely unthreatened.
Santos had a chance to settle the game late into the half and soothe Lille's growing nerves when he rocketed a shot off the crossbar. In the end, it wouldn't matter, as Les Dogues held on to claim their first league victory in 2026 to end a miserable run of form.
Berke Özer, 5
Calvin Verdonk , 5
Aïssa Mandi, 6
Nathan Ngoy, 6
Tiago Santos, 6
Benjamin André, 6
Ayyoub Bouaddi , 6
Back in his usual position in midfield after the failed experiment to start him as a right-back. He looked shaky in his unorthodox role, but that was gone this afternoon. He had a great game in the centre of midfield, roaming forward and providing an attacking threat during the first half. It's safe to say the fullback experiment is well and truly over.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 3
Gaëtan Perrin, 7
A promising performance from the new man, who is still finding his fitness after six months where he was barely used in Russia. He pulled the strings in attack and really should have gotten a few assists if not for the low confidence from his teammates.
Félix Correia, 2
The winger started life brightly when he moved to Lille this summer, but he has embodied the recent struggles. His confidence looks shot, as he took easy chances and made them look difficult. It doesn't help that Lille don't seem to have the players to replace him from the line-up, so his issues are compounded week on week.
Olivier Giroud, 6
Hervé Koffi, 8
Jordan Lefort, 3
