Olivier Giroud opened the scoring as Lille handed new coach Davide Ancelotti a winning start with a 2-0 victory at Angers in their Ligue 1 opener on Sunday.
Giroud, who turns 40 next month, struck in the 11th minute with a superb low drive after latching onto Nabil Bentaleb’s pass. Tiago Santos doubled the lead just after the half-hour, volleying home a loose ball following a slick Lille move.
Ancelotti, son of coaching icon Carlo Ancelotti, took charge at Lille in June after Bruno Genesio’s departure. Lille, who finished third last season to book their Champions League spot, showed early promise under their new boss. “It wasn’t perfect, but we wanted to start strongly today,” Giroud told Ligue 1+. “We could have killed the game off earlier.”
Amid transfer speculation, Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi—linked with Manchester City—was left out of the squad but said his farewells to fans after the match. “We don’t know what will happen,” Giroud said. “If it happens then we will want to celebrate the win for him.”
Elsewhere, Eric Dier netted the winner as Monaco edged Le Havre 1-0. Paris Saint-Germain are set to open their Ligue 1 campaign against Rennes, with the match moved away from the Parc des Princes due to pitch issues.
Lille’s strong start under Ancelotti sets the tone for an exciting Ligue 1 season ahead.
