PARIS: Lille bounced back from a humiliating home thumping by Paris St Germain last weekend to win 3-1 at newly-promoted Ajaccio on Friday for their second win of the Ligue 1 season.

Yusuf Yazici’s breathtaking volley gave the visitors a 17th minute lead followed by strikes for Jonathan Bamba near halftime and defender Tiago Djalo midway through the second period. Bamba converted a cross from Jonathan David and a Djalo free-kick after 67 minutes made it 3-0 to the 2021 Ligue 1 champions.

Cyrille Bayala headed in an 83rd minute consolation for the home side before David’s late penalty hit the post to deny Lille a fourth goal after they had been handed a 7-1 home drubbing by champions PSG last Sunday.

“The most important thing after the last match was to show that we had the strength to react,” said Lille defender Jose Fonte. “Good teams do not lose twice in a row. These are three important points.”

Lille are fourth with seven points, two behind leaders PSG who host AS Monaco on Sunday, while Ajaccio are third-bottom on one point and still looking for a first victory since their top-flight return after relegation in 2014.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022