Davide Ancelotti called Lille OSC’s three-nil Champions League defeat to Arsenal a harsh scoreline after late goals broke a 60-minute deadlock at the Emirates Stadium. The manager defended his players’ efforts despite the club remaining winless in their opening two European fixtures.
The French side managed to frustrate their hosts for an hour during Tuesday’s European fixture, holding the score level until the game’s final third.
That breakthrough triggered a rapid attacking flurry from the hosts.
The flurry left Lille reeling after conceding three goals in a span of five to seven minutes.
Speaking after the whistle, the Lille manager pointed to the impact of the opposing substitutions and the psychological blow of the first concession. He noted that the team’s defensive confidence fractured once the deadlock ended.
🎙️ Davide Ancelotti on Lille’s defeat to Arsenal:🗣️ “In terms of what my players gave, I have no regrets. We need to analyse the fact we conceded three goals in five minutes but, in terms of the game plan, we wanted to stay in the match for as long as possible. “The result is… pic.twitter.com/1QH0rRjkXD
— https://x.com/ArsenalRadar/status/2110331030095933486
“Regarding what my players gave, no, I have no regrets. We have to analyse how we conceded three goals in five (seven) minutes. It is something that obviously we don’t like. But in terms of the gameplan, the idea was to stay in the game until the end. We knew that it would be difficult against a team like this, in a stadium like this. But we managed it for 60 minutes.”
Davide Ancelotti, via Yahoo
The visiting coach also highlighted how fresh legs altered the tempo of the match, drawing a parallel to Arsenal’s recent domestic fixture against Leeds United where substitutes Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimarães scored two goals in eight minutes.
“Arsenal’s first goal made us lose a bit of confidence in our way of defending. I think that Arsenal’s changes made the difference; they raised their intensity and rhythm a little bit. We paid for that. I think that the result is harsh for us, too, because I think that we fought. I don’t think that the players deserve a result like that.”
Davide Ancelotti, via Yahoo
The loss leaves Les Dogues searching for their first win in the league phase as their European campaign continues.
