With both sides on identical records (W4, D2, L1), it was no surprise that little separated the teams in the early exchanges.
An end-to-end affair lacking in quality in the final third suddenly burst into life midway through the half with a moment of clinical brilliance from the visitors.
Brimming with confidence following two goals in their midweek UEFA Champions League defeat to Galatasaray, Soriba Diaoune picked out Ethan Mbappe with a perfect through ball, and the first-time finish left Lukas Hradecky with no chance as the small band of travelling fans erupted.
Monaco failed to muster much of a response, going in 1-0 down at the break, and without producing a single shot on target to trouble Berke Ozer.
The hosts picked things up after the break, with Aleksandr Golovin coming closest to finding a leveller shortly after the restart. His well-struck free kick forced Ozer into a diving save, before an outstanding last-ditch tackle from Alexsandro denied the Russian as he looked set to shoot after running through on goal.
With the momentum on their side, the home side kept pushing, and should’ve levelled with 25 minutes to go. Paris Brunner had looked bright all game without finding an end product, and it was summed up as he managed to turn the ball over the bar from six yards out.
Moments later Brunner was in the thick of the action again; however, this time he was on the end of a reckless challenge from Tanguy Nianzou, which saw Lille reduced to 10 men.
It was then one-way traffic towards the visiting goal, and their resistance finally broke on 74 minutes when Brunner got the faintest of touches to turn Edan Diop’s cross into the bottom corner.
Camped in Lille’s half in the closing exchanges, the home side pushed hard for a winner, but ultimately had to settle for a draw.
Albeit having played a game more than their rivals, the point is enough for both sides to move one point clear at the top of the table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Teze (Monaco)
