Lille continue unbeaten run despite draw against valiant Le Havre

Loic Nego, right, heads the ball next to Lille's Icelandic midfielder Hakon Arnar Haraldsson
Loic Nego, right, heads the ball next to Lille's Icelandic midfielder Hakon Arnar Haraldsson Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP

LOSC Lille stretched their unbeaten Ligue 1 run to 12 games (W7, D5) but may regret not taking all three points in their race for UEFA Champions League qualification as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Stade Pierre-Mauroy by 14th-placed Le Havre.

Unsurprisingly, the hosts were dominant in the early stages, with their attackers sharing plenty of chances between them.

Felix Correia shot wide, before Ngal'ayel Mukau cut inside and shot straight into Mory Diaw’s arms. Hakon Haraldsson, though, went closest to opening the scoring when he struck the post from distance.

Correia then fired off target again with another effort from inside the box, while Haraldsson forced Diaw into a brilliant reaction save as he palmed his header away.

However, the Iceland international finally gave Lille the lead shortly before the half-hour mark, being fed through by Ayyoub Bouaddi before finishing neatly into the bottom corner. 

Then, completely against the run of play, Le Havre equalised with their first shot of the game. Fode Doucoure found Issa Soumare with a header, and when the ball broke to him once more, he headed past the helpless Berke Ozer himself.

That goal ensured a league-high 18 of the Sky and Navy’s matches have stood level at half-time despite further opportunities for both sides to take a lead into the second half.

Correia’s near-post strike was batted away by Diaw, prior to Mbwana Samatta cutting inside and curling towards the far corner, only for Ozer to tip away.

Lille - Le Havre match stats
Lille - Le Havre match statsOpta by StatsPerform

Haraldsson was determined to settle any home nerves immediately after the break, with his deflected effort hitting the woodwork from just inside the area. Lille continued to exert pressure as, after Diaw fumbled a cross, he then reacted well to stop Mukau from close range.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo had a relatively quiet game compared to his teammates, but he was denied a golden opportunity to add to his winner against Paris FC last time out when his goalbound effort was expertly blocked by Loic Nego.

Les Dogues continued to probe into the latter stages, but could not find the winner and ultimately missed the chance to move three points clear of Olympique Lyonnais in fourth.

Le Havre, meanwhile, are now 10 matches without victory (D6, L4) yet edge closer to safety as they are now seven points clear of the relegation play-off spot.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Hakon Haraldsson (Lille)

Check out all the match stats with Flashscore.

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