Lille – Atlético 3:1 (October 23, 2024) Match analysis

Lille's Jonathan David scored twice as the French side stunned hosts Atlético Madrid with a 3-1 comeback win in the Champions League on Wednesday, securing their second win from their last two games while keeping the pressure on a struggling Spanish side team increased.

Lille, who owed the victory to their goalkeeper and man of the match Lucas Chevalier, have now beaten their second Madrid team on consecutive matchdays, having also beaten defending champions Real Madrid 1-0 at the beginning of October.

With the goals against Atlético, David became the all-time leading Canadian goalscorer in Champions League history, according to UEFA, with six goals, one more than Tomasz Radzinski.

The win took Lille to six points, while Atlético are on three with just one win from their three games so far.

“We had a complicated start because we conceded an avoidable goal,” said Lille coach Bruno Genesio. “In the last 15 minutes of the first half we felt like we had new energy. We had a chance to equalize just before half-time and I was confident that we wouldn't concede a second goal and that we would have opportunities to equalize.”

“All my players were very decisive. We have taken a step towards qualification because between nine and ten points we can dream of making it to the round of 16.”

His team fell behind early on as the Spaniards hoped for an early goal.

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They did it in the eighth minute when Julian Alvarez intercepted a weak back pass from Lille defender Ousmane Touré and slotted it in for the lead.

There was further bad news for Lille when they had to replace injured midfielder Remy Cabella in the 16th minute and brought on Edon Zhegrova.

Atlético had only themselves to blame for not going into the break with a much larger lead or for not finishing the game at all. Alexander Sorloth missed three golden chances to score in the first half after being denied by Chevalier.

“We had a great first half, but we lacked efficiency after creating a lot of chances to score,” Alvarez said. “If you don’t have the chances you have in the Champions League, you have to pay for it because all the competitors are very good.”

Lille's best chance of the first half came in stoppage time when Zhegrova shot over the bar, but the Kosovo international's introduction would later prove crucial.

Zhegrova shot a great left-footed shot into the far top corner in the 61st minute and equalized for the guests.

Atlético almost came back straight away when Antoine Griezmann stood unmolested in front of goal, but his volley flew well over the crossbar.

Instead, it was the French who scored again in the 74th minute with a penalty from David, who had also scored the winning goal against Real, sealing their comeback.

After Chevalier pulled off another brilliant save late in the game to keep the team in the lead, Canada international David sealed the victory with his second goal of the night when his deflected shot found the net in the 89th minute.