UCL: Lille Destroy Real Madrid’s 37-game Unbeaten Run With 1-0 Win
Lille claimed the scalp of Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday as a Jonathan David penalty just before half-time gave the French club a famous 1-0 home win over the reigning European champions.
Canada striker David converted from the spot in first-half stoppage time and Lille held on for the victory they deserved for an outstanding performance before a sell-out 50,000 crowd at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Lille were superb throughout but had to hang on at the finish as they recorded one of the finest European results in their history to get up and running in this season’s Champions League following a 2-0 loss to Sporting Lisbon in their opening game.
Meanwhile Real with Kylian Mbappe only appearing as a substitute on his return after a thigh injury — were well short of the form which brought them a 15th European Cup triumph last season.
That ultimately may not matter much for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who beat Stuttgart 3-1 at home two weeks ago and who saw a 36-game unbeaten run stretching back to January come to an end here.
The new 36-team Champions League format provides margin for error, especially for the continent’s biggest clubs, with everyone now playing eight games instead of six previously.
Real’s upcoming fixtures could be tough, with a repeat of last season’s final against Borussia Dortmund next and AC Milan and Liverpool to follow.
But it is hard to imagine them failing to qualify at least for the play-off round, which may have taken some of the edge off the evening for them.
In contrast, for many Lille players this was arguably the biggest night of their careers, and they were determined to seize the opportunity.
That was especially the case for midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who started on his 17th birthday.
Bouaddi hardly put a foot wrong and outshone stars in the Madrid team like Jude Bellingham, a comparative veteran at 21.
Mbappe was appearing on French soil for the first time since his move to Spain from Paris Saint-Germain. His last game for PSG had been in this same stadium, in the French Cup final in May.
The France captain was only just back from a thigh injury suffered last week, and so he started on the bench.
Instead Real’s attack was spearheaded by Endrick, the young Brazilian getting his first start since signing from Palmeiras.
He became, at 18 years and 73 days, the youngest player ever to start a Champions League game for Real, beating Raul’s record set in 1995 by five days.
