Lille target stronger Champions League start under Davide Ancelotti as Betis visit Pierre-Mauroy | OneFootball

Lille return to the Champions League at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Tuesday against Betis, aiming to start strongly under Davide Ancelotti. Hakon Haraldsson, Benjamin André and Olivier Giroud are among those expected to lead.

According to L'Équipe, this is their fourth straight European season, after the Europa Conference League in 2023-2024, the Champions League in 2024-2025 and the Europa League in 2025-2026, equalling their 2009-2012 run.

The club made €169m in summer sales, notably Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, to Manchester City for €100m and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 21, to Newcastle for €65m, yet the squad still looks competitive.

The left flank remains the question, with Basar Önal, Félix Correia and Osame Sahraoui tried without much success so far, and Correia since loaned to Sevilla.

Off the pitch, Lille set a club record 33,500 season-ticket holders, up from 32,000, and sold 27,000 Champions League packs for their four home games. Despite the early-week slot after the Braderie weekend, 38,000 are expected.

Their last two campaigns ended in the last 16, in 2022 and 2025. Asked if a repeat is possible, Ancelotti was guarded, saying the club earned this place last year, the team want to show they belong, and the aim is to fight and stay extremely competitive to the end without predicting where it leads.

First he must fix an odd trend, Lille have not won any of their first eight Champions League matches in a season, with three draws and five defeats. An opening win would be the clearest way to avoid a faltering start at this level.

Source: L'Équipe

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