Lille made it two wins from their opening two games in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) following a slender 1-0 victory over Serie A outfit Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The visitors secured the perfect start when they took the lead with the game’s first opportunity after only six minutes played.
A defensive mistake from Kostas Tsimikas allowed Felix Correia to feed the ball to Hakon Arnar Haraldsson via a deflection inside the penalty area, allowing the Iceland international to rifle the ball past Mile Svilar from around eight yards out.
Bruno Genesio’s side came close to doubling their advantage on the half-hour mark when Osame Sahraoui linked up well with Haraldsson, before dragging a disappointing effort wide of the post when he should have at least forced Svilar into action.
That squandered effort appeared to finally wake up the hosts as Roma came within inches of securing an equaliser five minutes later.
Following multiple chances to score in a mini game of pinball inside the penalty area, Morocco international Neil El Aynaoui saw his close-range shot dramatically cleared off the line by Lille centre-half Aissa Mandi.
Veteran striker Olivier Giroud was presented with a golden opportunity to extend Les Dogues’ lead nine minutes after the interval, but his close-range effort was well kept out by Svilar.
Shortly afterwards, at the opposite end, Irish striker Evan Ferguson saw a glancing header steered narrowly wide of the post as the Giallorossi stepped up their comeback efforts.
With the match seemingly drifting away from the hosts, Roma were suddenly gifted a lifeline when the referee awarded a penalty after VAR officials spotted that Mandi had handled the ball inside his own 18-yard area.
Substitute Artem Dovbyk stepped up to take the spot-kick but saw his tame effort saved by Berke Ozer. Due to encroachment from the goalkeeper, the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken, yet in a case of déjà vu, Dovbyk’s second effort was once again kept out by Ozer.
Astonishingly, Erik Lambrechts instructed that the penalty must be taken a third time due to further encroachment by the Turkish keeper. This time, it was Matias Soule who took responsibility, but in almost farcical fashion, his penalty was also saved by Ozer to keep the score at 1-0 in front of a stunned crowd.
While the first-ever meeting between these sides was not a classic game by any stretch of the imagination, Genesio will be delighted with his side’s response after losing at home to Olympique Lyonnais last weekend in Ligue 1.
Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini will have plenty to ponder, though, following a largely flat display in front of their home supporters, which also saw huge chances missed towards the end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Berke Ozer (Lille)
