Ligue 1 Ligue 1 Title For Lille Would Be Miracle Of Christophe Galtier'S Coaching The Guardian

 

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 Title For Lille Would Be Miracle Of Christophe Galtier'S Coaching The Guardian

   

Galtier offset a difficult Europa League schedule in the first half of the season with a famous 3-0 win against Milan. When Yilmaz missed 13 games through injury in the spring, Galtier was persuaded to start by impressive displays from the forgotten Timothy Weah and the club-record signing of Canadian striker Jonathan David. Lille were impenetrable, scoring 22 goals from all areas in the lower leagues. [Sources: 1]

   

Last year Lille lost Osimshen (Napoli), Gabriel (Arsenal) and Nico Gaitan (Braga, Portugal). They have filled the gaps left by the loss of Jonathan David, Sven Botman, Isaac Lihadji and Burak Yilmaz. I can't help but feel that Galtier is exactly what Lille need to make the club what it needs to be in its career. [Sources: 8]

   

Lille have been one of the best teams of Ligue 1 since the appointment of Christophe Galtier in 2017 and if they reach their promised land on Sunday, the scale of their accomplishments will be hard to overestimate. They will be champions if they win out of anger after failing to win the game against Paris Saint-Germain, regardless of the result in Brest. [Sources: 0]

   

Paris Saint-Germain kicked off its home campaign on Friday night against Lille after securing two silverware titles thanks to the success of last weekend and overall victory in recent International Champions Cup in North America. The French champions travelled on Saturday for the start of the Ligue 1 season with a 2-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais in Montreal, lifting the Champions Trophy for the third year in a row. Their title race entered the final day of the season as they beat Stade Reims 4-0 while Lille drew 0-0 in Saint-Etienne on Sunday. [Sources: 2, 3]

   

Christophe Galtier is often overlooked for his work in the weakest of Europe's top five leagues, but his work at Lille over the past three years has been nothing short of tremendous. Lille are not unlike the other Ligue 1 giants and like the majority of French teams to financial problems, which has necessitated a shrewd approach to the transfer market. In a short space of time he has transformed Lille from almost certain relegation in the 18 / 19 season to the top of the race for the league title in the 2020 / 21 season. [Sources: 8]

   

The Lille Olympique Sporting Club was founded in 1944 by a merger and plays in Ligue 1, the highest level of French football. They have played their home games at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq since 2012, replacing their previous home at the Stade Lille Metropole in the same city. [Sources: 4]

   

After World War II, Lille had two clubs in League 1: Olympique Lillois and Sporting Club Fivois. Lille won three league titles (1946, 1954 and 2011) and six Coupe de France titles. Olympique Lyonnais SC was one of the five founding members of the French Division 1, and Lille became champions for the first time. [Sources: 4]

   

Weakened by the war, the two clubs decided in autumn 1944 to merge and founded Lille Olympique Sporting Club (Losc ). In his decade of existence, Losc won two league titles and finished second in four consecutive seasons. In the Coupe de France, the club collected five wins in seven finals, including five in a row. [Sources: 4]

   

It should come as no surprise that sporting director Luis Campos laid the foundations for Monaco's sensational 2017 Ligue 1 title triumph before leaving Lille. Much has been made of his ability to build such a versatile, technically gifted and inexpensive squad since his departure in December. Lille are impenetrable against their opponents in the bottom division and are highly rated in all areas. [Sources: 0, 7]

   

Winger Jonathan Bamba, often criticised for his lack of finishing, shone at Christmas with a host of important goals and an assist in a man-of-the-match performance in which he fell behind. [Sources: 0]

   

The fact that Brest, once favourite to make the last three, is now one of the most exciting and creative sides of the season is amazing. Lille have gelled and adapted to a smart PSG run but lacked inspiration and were picked apart by teams such as relegation battlers Lorient and Nantes. [Sources: 1]

   

PSG have won seven of the last eight league titles since the Qataris spent hundreds of millions on some of the world's best players from Neymar to Kylian Mbappe in 2011. But Lille emerged from the full drama of the season when they beat PSG on April 3 to begin a run of five wins from seven games that has catapulted them to the brink of glory. When Christophe Galtier took over as head coach of crisis-hit Lille midway through the 2017-18 season, few predicted they would win the title. [Sources: 7]

   

It is hard to see how a team such as Monaco or Lyon would be able to threaten the current domination of the French champions at home. Second-placed Monegasque, who face Lens, are three points off the top and need results this weekend to go their way, with at least six goals difference and a point separating the top two. Qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, which extends all the way to the Champions League, is the best we can hope for and it would be a huge success. [Sources: 2, 7]

   

Chelsea go into the final game of the Premier League knowing that a win would guarantee them third place and Champions League qualification. Two qualify for the Champions League, two for the Europa League and one for the new conference finals if they miss out on the final. [Sources: 6]

   

Having been in the top four since day one, they will miss out on a Champions League place. They won their Champions League in anger after failing to win their game against Paris Saint-Germain in Brest. Lille have been one of Ligue 1's most competitive teams since the appointment of Christophe Galtier in 2017 and if they arrive on Sunday their promised land, the scale of their achievement will be hard to overestimate. [Sources: 5, 6]

Sources:

   

[0]: https://cartegg.com/ligue-1-title-for-lille-would-be-miracle-of-christophe-galtiers-coaching-lille/

   

[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/22/ligue-1-title-for-lille-would-be-miracle-of-christophe-galtiers-coaching

   

[2]: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2539300-which-ligue-1-clubs-can-actually-challenge-psg-this-season

   

[3]: https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/ligue-1-title-race-psg-close-in-on-lille-as-fight-comes-down-to-final-matchday/

   

[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille_OSC

   

[5]: http://www.findafootballteam.info/teamdetails/?p=7CBC9D3D-0B16-4B0A-A914-15B12D74C271&m=South%20Yorkshire

   

[6]: https://sportslens.com/page/7/?attachment_id=jdcscmkhliqrbp

   

[7]: https://www.espn.com/soccer/lille/story/4388042/how-lille-defied-the-odds-to-stand-on-the-brink-of-ligue-1-title

   

[8]: https://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2021/5/4/22418142/daniel-levys-imaginary-managerial-shortlist-christophe-galtier-lille