Bentaleb's remarkable return could inspire Lille's run for a Champions League spot
PARIS: If Lille need further motivation in their drive to qualify for the Champions League next season, then they need only look at Nabil Bentaleb's remarkable return.
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Back on the field 8 months after a cardiac arrest
Scored 4 minutes after coming on
Man of the match
You are a soldier @nabilbentaleb42
pic.twitter.com/c1ZlFmDHqw https://t.co/qEmNvLifzY
— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) February 16, 2025
Bafodé Diakité said the atmosphere in the dressing room after last Sunday's win was something special.
'I had never experienced anything like that,' he said. 'It goes beyond football.'
Now Bentaleb and his teammates must focus on catching Monaco and Nice in the Ligue 1 race for a top-four Champions League spot.
Fifth-placed Lille are only two points behind Monaco and Nice in third, so things could change on Saturday when Lille host Monaco.
Third place is a realistic ambition for all three sides, given that unbeaten leader Paris Saint-Germain seem too far ahead and free-scoring Marseille are six points clear in second place.
Former teammates face each other
When Nice take on rock-bottom Montpellier on Sunday, former strike partners Gaëtan Laborde and Andy Delort are set to face each other amid contrasting circumstances.
Laborde has nine league goals for Nice this season, while Montpellier signed Delort on loan from Algerian side MC Alger to help in their desperate relegation battle.
Laborde and Delort enjoyed three full seasons together at Montpellier from 2018-21 and formed a strong partnership, with Laborde netting 33 league goals and Delort getting 38.
They began the next season together before both left. Their paths quickly met again when they played half of the 2022-23 season together at Nice — before Delort joined Nantes and angered Nice fans.
Timing could be right to beat PSG
PSG have not lost anywhere since Nov. 26 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
But Lyon will threaten that. Lyon will be fully rested after not playing in the Europa League this week. It is also resurgent after eight goals in the past two games under new coach Paulo Fonseca. PSG played on Wednesday when they trounced Brest 7-0 in the Champions League.
Rayan Cherki has found top form for Lyon in recent weeks and Fonseca has unearthed a surprising finisher.
Veteran midfielder Corentin Tolisso has scored in all three games since Fonseca took over and is enjoying his best scoring season since the 2017-18 campaign with Bayern.
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