PLAYER RATINGS | Bologna 1-2 Lille: Ngal'ayel Mukau double downs hosts
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UEFA Champions League, Round 5, 27/11/2024
Lille OSC's impressive Champions League campaign continued with a 2-1 victory over Bologna FC 1909. The twenty-year-old Ngal’ayel Mukau made the difference scoring both goals for Les Dogues.
The Match
In the fifth minute, Bologna believed they had recorded a perfect start when Thijs Dallinga latched onto a ball over Lille's back four and placed his shot past Lucas Chevalier into the left-hand corner. However, the home supporters’ jubilation would be short-lived as VAR ruled the former Toulouse striker fractionally offside.
Lille came close to opening proceedings shortly after when Osame Sahraoui skipped into the box and forced a corner. Matias Fernandez-Pardo's set-piece found the centre-back Alexsandro who headed the ball into the post. The game would settle into a lull with neither team threatening until late into the half.
Les Dogues would gain the advantage a minute before the end of the first half when Bologna fluffed a throw-in routine. Jonathan David pressed the mistake as Stefan Posch cleared the ball into his teammate. The striker rolled his pass to Ngal’ayel Mukau whose first effort was blocked, but a fortunate deflection allowed him a second bite and the chance to record his first-ever goal for Lille.
Bologna came alive in the second half as they searched for their debut goal in the Champions League. Dan Ndoye slipped past the Lille backline but his effort was blocked by Bafodé Diakité. The ball fell to Posch who also saw his shot swallowed by brave Lille defending. The hosts kept up their pressure with Lille looking to break up the flow of the game.
Dallinga was the next to be disappointed as Bologna etched closer. The striker's point-blank header came a little too close to Chevalier. The goalkeeper's reflex save stopped the first chance and he was the quickest to pounce on the ball and prevent Lewis Ferguson from an effort on goal.
The pressure would pay off as Jhon Lucumí headed past Chevalier from a curling free-kick to make history for the Serie A side. However, their joy was like tears in the rain as Fernandez-Pardo found Mukau's late drifting run into the box. The 20-year-old went with power to return the lead to Lille.
Lille looked as if they had been woken up by Lucumí's goal. Fernandez-Pardo and Osame Sahraoui forced a double save from Łukasz Skorupski. Another change to the scoresheet would not come, but the two goals would be enough for Les Dogues to continue what is becoming an impressive Champions League campaign for a side that was not much-fancied coming into this competition.
Lille Player Ratings
Lucas Chevalier – 6
Gabriel Gudmundsson – 6
Alexsandro – 6
Bafodé Diakité – 7
Thomas Meunier – 6
Benjamin André – 7
Ayyoub Bouaddi – 7
Ngal’ayel Mukau – 8
Out of possession, the midfielder was excellent. He was the legs for Jonathan David as he was the highest point of engagement and pressed the Bologna backline trying to force errors. On the ball, he was similarly excellent and had a lot of good moments where he connected the midfield with the forward line. However, the night will be remembered for his first and second-ever senior goal, both were well-taken.
Osame Sahraoui – 6
Jonathan David – 7
Perhaps he could have been ranked harsher but the striker did a lot well without finding his name on the scoresheet. He was brilliant in the build-up to the first goal and likely could have opened the scoring for Lille if Fernandez-Pardo looked up during a scintillating run in the first half.
Matias Fernandez-Pardo – 7
A strange night. The winger did a lot of frustrating things, but he was also intensely exciting and unlucky not to record a goal. The young Belgian was crucial to helping Mukau record the second goal. He clearly has heaps of potential and he showed that tonight, this will be a night he’ll likely both celebrate and learn from.
Bologna Selected Player Ratings
Łukasz Skorupski – 7
Dan Ndoye – 4
Thijs Dallinga – 4
