Football
ESPN staff 7y

Bielsa's Lille thrash Ranieri's Nantes; Njie fuels Marseille win over Dijon

Lille's attacking potential was on display as coach Marcelo Bielsa's new side started their Ligue 1 campaign with a 3-0 win over Nantes on Sunday.

After finishing a disappointing 11th last season, Lille hired the Argentine coach -- known as "El Loco Bielsa" (Crazy Bielsa) to his fans -- with the aim of returning to the Champions League while playing an exciting brand of football.

Lille also recruited more than a dozen new players, and the northern club's squad appears to have gelled.

Facing an unimaginative side, Lille dominated from the start but had to wait until the 48th to open the scoring through Paraguay defender Junior Alonso. Nicolas De Preville doubled his team's lead from the spot and Anwar El Ghazi put the win beyond doubt.

The match also featured a duel between Bielsa and another prominent coach, Italian Claudio Ranieri. The managers, who had a quick chat before the game, returned to the French top flight after spending several years away.

Clinton Njie marked his permanent move to Marseille by scoring twice in a 3-0 victory over Dijon.

Marseille had huffed and puffed during a goalless first half against opponents who were almost relegated last season.

But Njie, introduced at half-time in place of a disappointing Dimitri Payet, provided the penetration Marseille had been missing with former Newcastle forward Florian Thauvin also on target.

Summer signing Baptiste Guillaume struck late on to earn Angers a 2-2 home draw against Bordeaux.

Angers took an 11th-minute lead when Pierrick Capelle's cross found its way to Angelo Fulgini, who finished through the legs of Benoit Costil for his first goal in Ligue 1.

But Bordeaux were ahead after Younousse Sankhare turned in Francois Kamano's cross and Alexandre Mendy scored on debut following his move from Guingamp.

Bordeaux looked as if they would hold on to the points, but two minutes from time Costil palmed out a Karl Toko Ekambi shot and Guillaume could not miss.

Press Association and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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