Having narrowly avoided relegation under the guidance of Christophe Galtier last season, Lille maintained that momentum and incredibly finished second this time around, attaining an unexpected automatic ticket into the Champions League.
With a young side, Lille had expected a much better season, but they could not have dreamed of a stronger campaign, which was aided immensely by a strong August, in which they picked up seven points from a possible nine.
Crucially, Galtier was able to get the best out of Nicolas Pepe, a player who had been ill-used as a centre forward the previous season under Marcelo Bielsa. Back out on his natural habitat of the wing, he proved one of the revelations of the season, not just in France but in Europe as a whole as he bagged 22 goals and 11 further assists.
While Pepe was the star, he was well supported from elsewhere. Jonathan Bamba blew a little hot and cold but still had a strong season, while the same can be said of Jonathan Ikone, whose end product remains questionable.
Centre forwards Rafael Leao and Loic Remy both gave good service to the team when called upon, bagging eight and seven goals for the campaign respectively.
If Lille’s attackers made the headlines, it was the defence that was arguably their strongest sector as they posted the best defensive numbers in Ligue 1 for the campaign. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan had a break-out season, while the addition of Jose Fonte proved an extremely shrewd one as he worked well beside Adama Soumaoro and Gabriel.
Ahead of this duo, Thiago Mendes and Xeka ran the midfield, which was very well balanced.
Though Lille face losing several key players over the summer, their squad depth is such that players like Gabriel, Boubakary Soumare and Luiz Araujo can step up. Europe means that they will be stretched a little more but, with the right addition of quality, Lille can be a force in Ligue 1 again next term.
