Lille made it four consecutive home wins in all competitions after beating Brann 2-1 on matchday one of the new UEFA Europa League (UEL) campaign.
Despite being clear underdogs, Brann actually created the game’s first real opportunity inside four minutes when Niklas Castro’s outswinging corner was nodded wide by captain Fredrik Pallesen Knudsen, though he should have at least hit the target from roughly 10 yards out.
Lille, who had a point to prove after losing 3-0 to local rivals Lens last weekend, responded positively, with Nabil Bentaleb’s inch-perfect pass round the corner finding Osame Sahraoui, but the Moroccan opted to go for glory from a tight angle and fired the ball out for a throw-in.
Having the advantage of being most of the way through their season, a well-conditioned Brann then went relatively close again with a header, when Emil Kornvig couldn’t divert Noah Holm’s knock-back home.
And as half time approached, Castro’s cross to the back post was ingeniously backheeled by Kornvig into the path of Holm, who smashed his effort against the woodwork with Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer out of position. Subsequently, the first half ended without a single shot on target.
This might have provoked Lille head coach Bruno Genesio into bringing old master Olivier Giroud off the bench in search of an opener. However, Genesio didn’t need Giroud or his other substitutes to break the deadlock.
Soon after Matias Fernandez-Pardo failed to test Mathias Dyngeland in the Brann goal following Tiago Santos’ deflected cross, Calvin Verdonk released Fernandez-Pardo, who turned on the afterburners and twisted up Eivind Helland before crossing in for Hamza Igamane to apply the easiest of finishes.
Far from resigning themselves to defeat, Brann hit back quickly, and not long after, goalkeeper Dyngeland riskily dribbled out of his area and found himself dispossessed by Igamane.
Lille captain Hákon Arnar Haraldsson made a second sloppy pass in quick succession, and he was duly punished, as Holm excellently slipped in Sævar Atli Magnusson, who fired in off Ozer’s right-hand post.
Brann could then have gone on to win it, with Kornvig wonderfully striking the bar before Fernandez-Pardo and Ayyoub Bouaddi also hit the woodwork.
Ultimately, though, European pedigree won out, and Giroud had the decisive say off the bench, rising high to head in Santos’ inviting cross with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.
Brann must wait for their first win in Europe against a French side (D1, L2 including qualifying), but they can be proud of their efforts at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Lille, meanwhile, need to perform more convincingly to progress to the knockout phase.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emil Kornvig (Brann)
