Lille President, Gerard Lopez has rued the absence of Nigeria’s Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen in Friday night’s 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1, saying that the other players find it difficult to score without the former Wolfsburg hitman in the squad.
The former CAF Youth Player of the Year star served an automatic one-match ban after receiving three yellow cards in previous league matches against SCO Angers, Nîmes Olympique and Marseille.
Lille manager, Christophe Galtier handed starts to Jonathan Ikoné and Luiz Araújo in attack but the two players struggled to make an impact.
With 9 goals in 17 appearances across all competitions, Osimhen is Lille’s top scorer and has scored as much as the other strikers in the Lille squad : Loic Remy (3 goals), Jonathan Ikone (2 goals), Araujo (2 goals), Yusuf Yazici and Jonathan Bamba (1 goal each).
”When Victor (Osimhen) is not there, the others do not score, for now,” Lopez said to La Voix Du Nord after Friday’s clash at the Parc des Princes (Paris).
Of the 17 matches Osimhen has been involved for Les Dogues this season, they have failed to score in four games, against Ajax Amsterdam, SC Amiens, Reims and FC Metz.
The Lille number 7 is expected to return to the starting line-up against Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday, November 27.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
