Europa League Full time report: Lille vs Sporting Lisbon- Sporting hold on to first half lead to beat Lille
Lille were looking forward to their biggest test in Group C, with Sporting Lisbon travelling to France to take on the team, in their Europa League group stage match.
Both the teams were the firm favourites to progress from the group with the other two teams being, Levski Sofia and Gent.
According to Lille midfielder Ludovic Obraniak, "It's going to be a tough group to qualify from because there's one of the top-seeded teams in Sporting Lisbon. We know that we're a good team too so that should be a good challenge.''
Lille already have plenty of experience in the tournament having gone on to the last sixteen in the tournament’s debut season. The team were however looking to better their record this time around.
The match was expected to be a highly contested one, with both the teams being almost as good as each other. However the experts were tipping Sporting to take all three points from the game.
The first half was a game of taking opportunities when they presented themselves. Both the teams were equally as good as each other on the night which is why the possession at the end of the half was almost fifty fifty. However despite that fact Sporting
picked up two goals in the half.
The first goal was scored by Simon Vukcevic near the ten minute mark, after the player controlled a ball before unleashing a brilliant left footed drive into the back of the net from around eight yards out.
The French side were determined to fight back, however Vukcevic was proving to be too hot to handle. He was involved in Sportings second goal as well. The player managed to find some space down the right flank and then delivered an inch perfect cross which
was met by the head of Helder Postiga and ended up in the back of the net.
As the half ended the home team were left wondering just what they were doing wrong.
The second half picked up from almost exactly where the first left, both the teams were still going at it, with one team trying to find a goal that would bring them back into the game and the other looking to find a goal that would end the game.
However it was Lille who finally managed to get the break through. Pierre-Alain Frau found himself in the six yard box with the ball at his feet and the player didn't think twice before slotting the ball into the back of the net. The goal came as a result
of a fumble by the Sporting keeper who couldn't keep out Eden Hazard's venomous shot from twenty yards out.
However the goal resulted in Sporting looking to go on the defensive. The away team knew that they had the one goal advantage and all they needed to do now was run the clock out. This might have been a negative approach to play the rest of the game but it
definitely was effective.
The Portuguese team laid back only looking to attack on the counter while Lille were going all out. In the second half the away team had only two shots at the Lille goal, while the home team had eight shots at the Sporting goal.
The match however did not see any more goals, thanks to some brilliant defending and keeping at both ends of the pitch. Sporting took home the valuable three points at the end of the night, but knew that they had a lot of work on their hands if they wanted
to keep this form up. Lille on the other hand, were more than disappointed after easily being the better team in the second half, they just couldn't find the finishing touch that was required to rescue some points from the game.
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