PLAYER RATINGS | Roma 0-1 Lille: Berke Özer saves three penalties to rescue Les Dogues | OneFootball

UEFA Europa League, Round 2, 02/10/25

There’s only going to be one talking point from this game as Lille OSC defeated AS Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Berke Özer put in a heroic performance to make the Lille faithful quickly forget about Lucas Chevalier.

The Match

Slow starts have been a theme of Lille’s season, with four of their 15 goals coming in the first half of matches before this game. However, they were quickly able to add to that tally as Roma got off to a rusty start. Thomas Meunier snatched up Konstantinos Tsimikas’s heavy touch outside the box, moving the ball onto Félix Correia. The winger quickly picked out Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, who stormed forward and netted in the 6th minute.

The game quickly fell into a lull with neither team looking particularly threatening for large swathes of the half. Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta were famed for their swashbuckling approach, but his Roma side do not yet feel like the finished article, and Lille, for the most part, were largely left untested.

Roma would finish the half with eight shots, with half of them coming in a short burst, where they really should have equalised. Tsimikas and Matías drew blocks before Tsimikas was given another bite at the cherry. His shot was saved by Berke Özer, but the ball bounced up for Neil El Aynaoui. The former RC Lens man poked his shot goalwards, but a last-ditch clearance from Aïssa Mandi saved Lille.

Lille like to save their magic for the second half, and it looked to be the case again as they created a couple of dangerous attacks early on. Haraldsson attacked down and looked to slip a ball in for a teammate. It was an inviting pass, but there was no one to take advantage. Correia picked out Giroud twice, but both times the striker was unable to shoot and could only guide it on, but to no avail.

Down the other end, Evan Ferguson had a chance to level the scores from a corner. His near-post header came close, but ultimately was offside, as the game began to spark into life. Tempers began to flare, and yellows began to flash, as some rather cynical fouls were made on either side.

Roma began to ramp up the pressure late in the half, and were given a stroke of fortune when VAR spotted Aïssa Mandi handling the ball in the area. It was a harsh decision, and strangely, he was given a yellow for a touch he had very little control over. What happened next was pure silliness, as Artem Dovbyk stepped up to the spot. The striker’s shot was slow and low, and Özer easily saved it.

Lille’s celebrations were short-lived, as they encroached on the area, and the kick needed to be taken again. Again, Dovbyk stepped up and delivered an identical shot, and Özer once again saved it. But again, Lille encroached. For the third, Matías Soulé halted Dovbyk’s misery, but he could do no better as Özer saved the third.

Roma kept pushing, but the fight had been taken out of them. How could you believe you were going to get anything from this game when you missed three chances to level the score from the spot?

Lille Player Ratings

Berke Özer – 10

Lucas Chevalier, who? What a game. The goalkeeper’s heroics saved Lille’s blushes as they encroached twice in the area to force him to make three saves. They weren’t great shots, but that doesn’t really matter. This will be a hard performance to forget, and he is well-deserving of a 10 out of 10.

Calvin Vedonk – 5

Replaced by Romain Perraud in the 69th minute.

Aïssa Mandi – 5

He should have kept his arms closer to his body, but the handball rule, as it is, is uneven and punishes at odd moments. Still, defenders know this, and it was an error that almost cost Lille a good defensive performance. He was lucky that his goalkeeper was in inspired form and Roma were not.

Chancel Mbemba – 6

Thomas Meunier – 6

Ayyoub Bouaddi – 7

Nabil Bentaleb – 5

Replaced by Benjamin André in the 63rd minute.

Osame Sahraoui – 4

Replaced by Ngal’ayel Mukau in the 89th minute.

Hákon Arnar Haraldsson – 6

A good performance from the Icelandic international. Probably the most creative player on the pitch during his stint. Replaced by Matias Fernandez-Pardo in the 63rd minute.

Félix Correia – 5

Olivier Giroud – 5

Replaced by Hamza Igamane in the 62nd minute.

Selected Roma Player Ratings

Konstantinos Tsimikas – 4

A bad half for the fullback, who was taken off at half-time for Devyne Rensch. The fullback was at fault for Lille’s 6th-minute goal, and probably should have done better with his two chances late in the first half to level the scores for the hosts.

Matías Soulé – 3

Neil El Aynaoui – 5

Wesley França – 6

GFFN | Nick Hartland