Football
2017-18 French Ligue 1, Regular Season
LILL 
0
FT
 AMI
1
PA Sport 6y

Mendoza the matchwinner as Amiens ease relegation fears by beating Lille

Stiven Mendoza scored the only goal as Amiens eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 victory at Lille which kept the hosts firmly in the relegation zone.
The Ligue 1 encounter was played behind closed doors at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy following crowd trouble against Montpellier last month.
And Mendoza's second-half goal was enough to secure maximum points for Amiens on Easter Sunday, despite Lille twice hitting the woodwork in the closing stages.
The hosts were dealt a blow in the 14th minute when midfielder Ibrahim Amadou was forced off through injury, with Kouadio-Yves Dabila replacing him.
Amiens were on the front foot for much of the opening period and had the game's first chance of note, with Gael Kakuta heading over.
But Lille hit back towards the end of the half and visiting goalkeeper Regis Gurtner was forced into two good saves to keep out Yassine Benzia as the home side pushed for the opener.
Lille began the second half as they had finished the first, with Benzia causing Amiens all kinds of problems - but this time his 48th-minute shot was not on target.
It was Amiens who made the breakthrough after 53 minutes, however, when Mendoza made the most of a defensive error to put the visitors 1-0 up.
Lille reacted well to falling behind, creating chances to level things up in the aftermath of Mendoza's goal.
Forward Nicolas Pepe just cleared the bar with his 61st-minute header before going close again six minutes later as Lille piled forward in search of an equaliser.
Amiens had a superb chance to double their lead in the 75th minute when Kakuta played in Moussa Konate but the striker was unable to find the net.
Lille came agonisingly close to pulling level when Thiago Mendes hit the bar eight minutes before the end.
And Mendes clattered the woodwork once again in added time but Amiens held on to take all three points.

^ Back to Top ^