Lille 4-5 Bordeaux: Title defence dealt severe blow as visiting side collects points in thriller

Posted Monday, February 13, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Despite a late fightback from the home side it was FCGB which ended up the victor in a fascinating 4-5 match at Stade Lille-Metropole.

Bordeaux took an early lead through Nicholas Maurice-Belay but was pegged back soon after by David Rozenahl. The visiting side then stormed to a three goal advantage courtesy of strikes from Ludovic Obraniak, Maurice-Belay’s second of the day, and Yoann Gouffran.

From 4-1 down LOSC leveled the game through Eden Hazard, Mathieu Debuchy and Nolan Roux but former Lille player Obraniak popped up to score his second of the afternoon and steal all three points for the home side.

The home crowd was stunned within two minutes when former Lille player Obraniak carried the ball down the right flank before cutting onto his left to shoot. His effort was saved by Mickael Landreau but Maurice-Belay fired back at goal and finding the net via a Debuchy deflection.

Lille was unperturbed and drew level just six minutes later. Dmitri Payet’s corner was headed at goal by Rozenahl, forcing a top-drawer save as Cedric Carrasso clawed it out of the top corner. Unfortunately for the keeper his save only went as far as Rozenahl who volleyed in from an acute angle with Carrasso still on the floor.

Both teams seemed desperate to take all the points making for a fantastic tempo to the game. Lille was enjoying the lion’s share of possession but it was Bordeaux which struck next in the 17th minute.

Debuchy’s nightmare continued when he handed the ball straight to Maurice-Belay in his own half. He found Gouffran in the box and the former Caen forward teed the ball up for Obraniak who fired a low left-footed strike past Landreau from the top of the box.

LOSC continued to dominate possession but looked vulnerable to the swift breaks of the visiting side. The second half brought no respite for the home team which looked increasingly disjointed.

Maurice-Belay missed a chance just 20 seconds after the restart but he did not fail with his next opportunity in the 50th minute. After showing great strength to turn and squeeze between Benoit Pedretti and Rozenahl he surged into the box. He took his time, forcing Landreau to commit. The keeper dove to his left and allowed the striker to pass straight into the net.

Soon after Gianni Bruno’s awful pass stopped Roux from tapping in, FCGB extended the lead on the hour mark. Another defensive error, this time from Hazard, handed Jaroslav Plasil the ball in the Lille half. He drove to the line, gliding past Rio Mavuba’s weak challenge before cutting the ball back for Gouffran to tap into the net.

Hazard atoned for his error five minutes later when his exquisitely struck free kick screamed into the top corner of the net with Carrasso helpless. The comeback was on.

Hazard looked inspired and his side pulled another goal back with 15 minutes left to play. Debuchy plucked Mavuba’s ball out of the air and volleyed into the bottom corner with Carrasso rooted to the spot.

It looked as though the comeback was completed when Hazard and Pedretti combined to allow Roux to level the game.

Bordeaux then silenced the jubilant crowd as Obraniak fired in his second of the day from an unmarked position on the left side of the box.

Lille remains in third position but missed the chance to close the gap between itself and Lyon and Montpellier at the summit of the league. Bordeaux meanwhile pulls away from the bottom half of the table after securing a magnificent victory.