Lille beat Toulouse 1-0 on Thursday evening, in the opening match of matchday 3 of Ligue 1. The goalscorer was Ayase Ueda, Lille's new signing, who scored in the 73rd minute.
This win, however, does not reflect how the match unfolded. Toulouse attempted 24 shots, including 10 on target, without managing to equalise. Lille goalkeeper Berke Özer made save after save and was named man of the match by Maxifoot's editorial team, with a rating of 9/10.
The Alexsandro moment
The Brazilian defender, given a starting spot by Davide Ancelotti, was overcome with emotion at the final whistle. The match came almost a year after his serious right quadriceps injury, sustained on 14 September 2025 against this same Toulouse side. Having returned from injury in January, he had never regained his place in the squad under Bruno Genesio, and was not selected for the 2026 World Cup with Brazil despite earning his first cap in June 2025.
'It was a special match for me,' Alexsandro said. 'It was hard for me during my injury. I suffered a lot and in the end, we won. I got back to my level on the pitch thanks to the whole team. That is why at the end, I cried a little.'
What Ancelotti said
Lille's coach acknowledged his team's limited collective performance, while emphasising his goalkeeper's individual contribution.
'We had a huge performance from our goalkeeper. We know that as a team, we did not play the match we want to play. Sometimes, bringing home the three points on a night like this where things did not go our way in every respect,' he said, adding that Özer had 'the full trust' of the club.
On the Toulouse side, coach Jens Berthel Askou preferred to highlight the performance despite the defeat.
'We were able to dominate a very good Lille team until the 94th minute,' he noted, speaking of 'frustration obviously, but no discouragement'.
Thanks to this win, Lille temporarily go top of the league, ahead of the rest of matchday 3. Lille will follow up on Tuesday (9pm) with their first Champions League league phase match, against Betis.
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