What a derby at the opening of the 24th round of League 1! Lille welcomed Lyon and on the wings of Jonathan David twice reached the double lead, but in the end, had to settle for only a point. The reason for that was Alexander Lacazette, who went from tragic to hero in just 10 minutes and returned to the field in great style – 3:3 (0:0). As much as the first half was boring, the sequel was thrilling. In the first attack in the second half, Jonathan David put the hosts in the lead. He followed Jonathan Bamba and his breakthrough on the right flank, placed the ball past Remy Riou and became Lille’s top scorer in the 21st century. However, he was not satisfied to only leapfrogging club’s legend Eden Hazard and becoming independent at the top of the list. Fifteen minutes after the 51st came to the 52nd goal in the Lille jersey, this time with a sure shot from the penalty spot.50 – With 50 goals scored, Jonathan David equals Eden Hazard as Lille’s top scorer in all competitions in the 21st century. Essential. #RCLLOSC pic.twitter.com/YEAzK2vMZL— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 4, 2023 Only three minutes later, Bradley Barkola put some sort of hope for the visitors with his third goal in the last fortnight, but then David entered the scene again, once again from the penalty spot. This time, Lacazette was the guilty party. The experienced striker came into to game just a few minutes before and acted like a rookie as he tried to stop the cross with his hand, which did not go unnoticed by the people from the VAR room. David took the ball and was precise once again, and with his 19th goal in the championship overtook Kylian Mbappe at the top of the scorers’ list in France.It should have been the confirmation of Lille’s victory. It should have, but it didn’t, because Lacazette has been experiencing a ‘new youth’ since returning to his parent club. In the 83rd minute, his header cut the deficit in half, and a minute before the end, his surgically precise shot brough Lyon a point. Even in stoppage time he nearly scored a hat-trick, but he shot past the right post from ten meters distance. However, the excitement did not end there either. Just a few tens of seconds later, a penalty was awarded to Lille on the other side! Jonathan Bamba was brought down from behind by Sael Kumbedi, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and just as Adam Una was poised to take the penalty, the VAR was activated and forced Benoit Bastien to (justifiably) overturn the decision.
