Lille beat Marseille: Jonathan David, the Canadian sensation, notched his 23rd goal of the season, igniting Lille’s path to a 3-1 triumph over Marseille on Friday, firmly cementing their trajectory toward next season’s Champions League.
David broke the deadlock with a precise penalty early in the second half. Remy Cabella, facing his former club, doubled Lille’s advantage in the 71st minute.
Although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back for Marseille, substitute Gabriel Gudmundsson sealed the deal for Lille in the late stages of the match.
The northern outfit, gearing up for their maiden European quarter-final clash against Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League next week, surged to third place in Ligue 1 ahead of the weekend fixtures. They sit a point behind second-placed Brest and maintain an edge over Monaco in fourth on goal difference, while distancing themselves from fifth-placed Nice by six points.
Securing a spot within the top three in Ligue 1 guarantees automatic qualification for the expanded Champions League next season, with the fourth-placed team entering the preliminary rounds.
Marseille currently languish in seventh position, still hopeful for a European berth contingent upon the outcome of the French Cup. However, they face a daunting 10-point gap from the top four, with only six matches remaining in the season.
Despite Marseille’s recent downturn, experiencing four consecutive losses across all competitions, their resurgence under the helm of Jean-Louis Gasset earlier in the season cannot be overlooked, with five consecutive wins preceding this streak.
Lille aimed to extend their formidable home record, having suffered just one defeat in their previous 37 matches at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy since August 2022.
David’s penalty marked his 16th goal in Ligue 1, trailing only behind Kylian Mbappe’s tally of 24 for Paris Saint-Germain.
Cabella’s sublime strike added to Lille’s lead, before Aubameyang briefly reignited Marseille’s hopes with a scrappy goal.
However, Gudmundsson’s late strike in the 84th minute sealed Lille’s victory, providing them with ideal momentum ahead of their upcoming clash at Villa Park
As the weekend unfolds, Brest takes on struggling Metz, Monaco hosts Rennes, and Nice travels to Reims. Meanwhile, league leaders PSG face bottom-placed Clermont on Saturday.
