Tim Weah started for Lille as the reigning Ligue 1 champions got a morale-boosting win over Reims in mid-week action in France.
Lille 2 – 1 Reims
The French champions have been struggling this season but they did get back to winning ways on Wednesday night with a hard-fought victory after registering just two points in their last three games.
Tim Weah was in the starting lineup but it was his Canadian colleague Jonathan David and then Benjamin Andre who found the back of the net for les Dogues. Both goals came in the first half.
The hosts came out of the starting blocks determined to put their derby loss to Lens over the weekend out of their minds. Ten minutes in Gudmundsson, making his first start for Lille almost scored his first goal with a strike from the left side but he was unable to make it count.
Although he didn’t score himself, Turkish international Burak Yilmaz turned provider both times to secure the victory. His first on the half-hour mark was a perfect cross into the box that found the head of New York City-born David who nodded it home. The second one came from a corner kick that found his French colleague’s head.
Weah played 15 minutes into the second half before being substituted, unsuccessful in scoring his first goal of the season after three starts. Reims however found one in the 74th minute as Alexis Flips scored from the penalty spot.
Lille will head east to take on Strasbourg on Saturday evening as they look to revive their season. The defending champions currently sit in 14th place, 13 points behind the leaders, PSG.
Notes
Konrad de la Fuente started on the bench as Marseille traveled to Angers and came on to the field in the 59th minute but he could not make an impact on the game as his Olympique team ended up sharing the points with the team in the Loire Valley. The result leaves OM in second place; seven points behind PSG after the Parisians beat FC Metz.
Marseille will be home over the weekend when they host the northerners from RC Lens on Sunday night.
Nicholas Gioacchini was only given 8 minutes to make an impact when Montpellier hosted Bordeaux on Wednesday night. All the scoring had already been done as the Herault Region team shared the points in this 3-3 game. This was the American’s third appearance from the bench and he has yet to find the back of the net.
Up next for Gioacchini and his loanee team is a trip to the French capital to take on Messi, Neymar, and PSG on Saturday night.
