Trepidation levels were high at Angers after an inactive summer on the transfer front, and a rotten start to this game did little to allay their fans’ fears of relegation.
Only 11 minutes were on the clock when Lille hit the front with overt ease, as Olivier Giroud dropped deep to pick the ball up and arrowed an effort into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
A glorious opportunity came and went for Angers to level the scores midway through the first half, when Anthony Bermont ghosted in around the back and volleyed Yassin Belkhdim’s cross over the bar.
The hosts were left to rue that missed opportunity five minutes later, when Lille doubled their advantage. Tiago Santos had fired in a warning shot seconds prior, which Anthony Lopes repelled, but Angers didn’t learn from that, and Santos was quickest to react after Hakon Haraldsson’s initial effort was blocked, sweeping an effort into the bottom corner.
Turning the game around was always likely to be a tall order for an Angers side who went into this having scored the second-fewest home league goals in Europe’s top-five leagues in 2026. But they did almost add to that tally ten minutes after the restart, when Jacques Ekomie whistled an effort over.
Prosper Peter spurned an even better chance soon after when he fired straight at Berke Özer after being left unmarked inside the area. And in eerily identical circumstances, he then wasted another glorious opportunity just five minutes later, when he again blasted against Ozer.
After successfully weathering the ‘storm’ from Angers, Lille thought they’d made the final 10 minutes a little more comfortable when Santos turned home what he thought was his second goal of the day.
It was deemed that Felix Correia was obstructing Ozer’s view, though, and the goal was chalked off. But that proved inconsequential, and Lille saw out a joint club record seventh successive top-flight away win.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Amine Sbai (Angers)