Set against the backdrop of a foggy mist created by flares that engulfed the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the early knockings of the game, it was the home side who took an early lead.
Mbappe stroked the opener into an empty net after a puzzling moment of madness from Marseille’s Geronimo Rulli. Granted, it was the quality of Mbappe’s touch that bamboozled the onrushing goalkeeper after he brought down Nabil Bentaleb’s searching long ball from inside his own half.
The stats were now in Lille’s favour; when netting the opener in games this season, Lille were yet to taste defeat, meaning the visitors were up against it. Despite a fast start, the game failed to catch fire, with most of the first half drifting by without anything of note, closing out with three shots in total for both sides.
Marseille began the second half in a more positive fashion, but their failure to produce a shot on target until the 76th minute was extremely telling.
In fact, it was only the second time this season that they hadn’t done so by the 67th minute. The home side were holding strong and defending brilliantly, eventually manufacturing a great chance to kill the game in the 74th minute.
A sharp counter-attack presented Hakon Haraldsson with the decision between shooting and laying off a teammate in the box, but he opted for a pass, which was promptly blocked.
At the other end, Mason Greenwood charged forward in a one-man counter-attack and drove into the Lille box, where he beat multiple players before seeing his shot well saved by Berke Ozer when it looked certain he would bring his side level.
That was their first effort on target, which was a testament to Lille’s rugged effort. The keyword for Marseille was certainly ‘frustration’, as Lille refused to budge while time ran out.
Ultimately, a win for Bruno Genesio’s side wasn’t enough to leapfrog their opponents, but it does bring them level on points with 29 after 15 games played. Lille’s final league match before the winter break sees them travel to lowly Auxerre, where they will hope to build on this important victory.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Mason Greenwood (Marseille)
