Rudi Garcia’s Lille opened the defence of their Ligue 1 title with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Nancy last night. After losing key figures such as Gervinho and Yohan Cabaye in the summer, the champions were keen to follow up an away record that saw them lose just three times on the road last season but, despite dominating the match from start to finish, had to be content with just a point. With so many changes to their starting XI, it’s clear they will need time before a real cohesion develops amongst the new boys.
Player Report
Ratings Summary
The game was pretty much one way traffic- only two Nancy players averaged over 7.00 in WhoScored.com’s ratings. A fantastic defensive performance by Bakaye Traore in central midfield earned him 7.45 for the match and 5 saves from keeper Damien Gregorini helped keep the visitors at bay as he picked up 7.12. The vast majority of Nancy’s starters were poor, however; six of them averaged 6 or under in the ratings.
Despite the disappointing result, three Lille players were worthy of praise for their displays last night. Right-back Mathieu Debuchy earned 7.84 for some eye-catching attacking raids, Florent Balmont controlled play in the middle of the pitch and picked up 7.56, and Eden Hazard offered the visitors plenty of creativity, being awarded 7.71 for his menacing showing. The side’s inability to finish their opponents off was summed up by the lack of involvement from centre forward Moussa Sow- he received a lowly 5.96 and was a big let down, given his 25 league goals in 2010/11.
Man of the Match
Lille’s Mathieu Debuchy was the stand-out performer at Stade Marcel Picot last night. The right-back played a major part in his side’s attacking play, grabbing the opening goal two minutes into the second half. Debuchy had 91 touches -the third most of any player- and made 55 passes over the course of the 90 minutes, with a brilliant 91% accuracy.
He made 2 key passes and had 6 crosses from the flank, the second best tally of any player for the visitors. When it came to successful dribbles, Debuchy made more than any player on the pitch, with a total of 3. With a WhoScored.com rating of 7.84, Debuchy was the Man of the Match.
Best Tackler
Playing in the centre of Nancy’s five man midfield, Bakaye Traore put in a hefty defensive shift. The Malian made 5 tackles and 4 interceptions -joint-top in both categories with team mate Pascal Berenguer. Traore also won 2 aerial duels in addition to 1 clearance, picking up a WhoScored.com match rating of 7.45, easily the highest of any home player.
Best Dribbler
As mentioned above, Mathieu Debuchy made the most successful dribbles, with a total of 3. The right-back was fouled just once during the game, though was dispossessed on 2 occasions and had 3 turnovers (lost control of the ball). Not far behind was team mate Eden Hazard, who made 2 successful dribbles and 5 key passes. Hazard troubled Nancy time and again, drawing 7 fouls from the opposition.
Best Passer
Lille’s Florent Balmont was the most impressive in distribution last night. Playing on the right of Garcia’s midfield three with new signing Benoit Pedretti on the left, Balmont had more touches (113) and made more passes (107) than any other player on show. Impressive in possession, he had an 89% pass accuracy, made 3 crosses and played 7 long balls as Lille used their pace to get in behind the Nancy back-four.
Balmont was a goal threat throughout and his 4 shots at goal was double that of any other visiting player.
Flop
Last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow made a disappointing performance for Lille. He had just 33 touches, the least of any outfield player for Garcia’s side. Sow made just 23 passes, again the lowest of any Lille starting player and had 2 shots, with none of his efforts on target. He offered no creative threat, with zero key passes and his defensive contribution was also non-existent- the likes of Hazard, on the other hand made 4 tackles on the left of Lille’s front three. Sow picked up a WhoScored.com rating of 5.96 for a thoroughly ineffective display.
Team Report
Player Positions
The average position chart highlights just how much of an attacking threat Man of the Match Mathieu Debuchy (2) was for Lille. Giving plenty of width and forward impetus from the right, Debuchy was one of six Lille players whose average position was inside the opposition half. Eden Hazard (10) offered more forward menace than new signing Dimitri Payet (7). Rio Mavuba (24) sat deep in central midfield, allowing both Balmont and Pedretti license to roam forward- the pair managed 6 shots between them.
Nancy were embedded in their own half for much of the game- they had only two players whose average touches were mainly in the Lille’s half. Right winger Loosemy Karaboue (18) was the only member of their starting XI to offer any real support to lone striker Youssouf Hadji (15). Reynald Lemaitre (25) played the deeper of Nancy’s full-backs, with the threat of Debuchy on the other side curtailing his attacking intent.
Attack Zones
Both teams mainly used the flanks to attack. Lille’s main threat- led by Mathieu Debuchy and Florent Balmont- saw 41% of their attacks come down the right. With Eden Hazard offering plenty of threat and trickery on the other flank, 32% came down the left, meaning just 27% of their attacks were through the middle.
46% of Nancy’s attacks came down the right- with the threat of winger Loosemy Karaboue highlighted above, right-back Mickaël Chrétien foraged forward to offer more width from deeper. 28% came down the left and 26% through the middle.
Team Stats
Lille’s complete domination of the ball is shown by their incredible 76% possession. The champions made 710 passes to Nancy’s 230 and played 650 short passes to their hosts’ 170. They offered more threat from wide, with 29 crosses to 16 and had an average pass streak of 8 to Nancy’s 3.
Lille’s ability to keep the ball is shown by a fantastic 91% pass accuracy compared to Nancy’s 61%. The home side did play the most long balls, though, with 47 to 33 an indication of their attempts to hit Lille on the break as they sat deep in their own half.
Given their complete dominance of possession, it’s no surprise to see Lille lead the way for goal attempts. They had 14 shots to Nancy’s 6, with 7 from open play and 7 from set-piece situations- in total they had 6 attempts on target. Nancy managed 3 from open play and, such was the ineffectiveness of their shooting, had only 1 attempt on target all game- it took a 61st minute own goal by centre-half Franck Beria to level the scoring.
Card Situations
Frustration got the better of Lille as the game progressed and star winger Eden Hazard, in particular, showed a lack of discipline. He was at fault for 4 of his team’s 21 fouls- more than any player on the pitch. Having been fouled 7 times, perhaps it’s no surprise he made so many in return. The visitors picked up 3 yellow cards, with defenders Marko Basa and Pape Souare joining Benoit Pedretti in the referee’s book.
The hosts made a total of 17 fouls in comparison, with midfield men Loosemy Karaboue and Samba Diakité picking up cautions before Pascal Berenguer saw red in the 83rd minute for a wild lunge.
