Lille seek spark on Champions League return against Real Betis after flat Toulouse win | OneFootball

Lille return to the Champions League on Tuesday seeking a spark at home to Real Betis after a flat win in Toulouse. According to Le Progres, the Dogues want a response in front of their own crowd at 21:00.

Their Ligue 1 start reads two victories, at Angers and Toulouse, plus a 2-2 draw with PSG, leaving them fourth.

In Toulouse they toiled and needed Berke Ozer’s nine saves to stay afloat before Ayase Ueda sealed a 1-0 win. Ueda arrived this summer from Feyenoord Rotterdam to replace Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

Romain Perraud said they must reset quickly before Europe, warning quality means little without humility after being collectively overrun. Head coach Davide Ancelotti hopes to banish the negative feeling from that display and is looking for a reaction.

Back in the Champions League after last season in the Europa League, Lille see a chance to take early points at home. Two years ago they lost 2-0 at Sporting Portugal, then beat Real Madrid 1-0 to spark a run to the last 16 and highlight Ayyoub Bouaddi, then 17, who joined Manchester City for 100 million euros.

Betis arrive in form with three wins from four Liga matches, the latest a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid on Friday. Ancelotti said they are ready for a very difficult season with many matches, and called the Champions League very special, having won it twice as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant in 2022 and 2024.

Source: Le Progres

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”