Lille coach cautious about Osimhen before UCL match

Lille head coach Davide Ancelotti has said his team must work together to stop Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen when they play Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. He knows how much the Nigerian can change a game, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Ancelotti pointed out that to keep Osimhen quiet, the whole team must defend well. He recalled how the striker made a difference during his time at Napoli.

"We stop him as a team. It doesn’t depend on one player; it always depends on the team," Ancelotti said, as reported by French outlet Le Petit Lillois.

"He’s a player who, in Naples, almost single-handedly won the Scudetto," he added.

The Lille coach also mentioned that Galatasaray has many skilled players with experience in European matches. He insisted his players need to stay alert both when attacking and defending.

"We know his potential, we know we always have to be vigilant when attacking and when defending," he said.

"We know they’re a team with a lot of individual quality, with players who have a lot of experience in this competition, who know it well. We always have to be vigilant."

Osimhen is returning to a place he knows well, having played for Lille in the 2019/20 season before moving to Napoli in 2020. He scored 18 goals in 38 matches for the French club.

The Nigerian striker has started the current season strongly with Galatasaray, recording six goals and three assists in seven matches across all competitions. But he has not scored or assisted in his last two games against Barcelona and Gençlerbirliği.

He will be looking to find his scoring form again against his old club and score his first Champions League goal this season as Galatasaray aims for a good result in France.

The match has also raised concerns about security due to recent violence in Lille. French newspaper Le Parisien reported that Galatasaray asked UEFA for safety assurances for its team before the game.

Reports say the club asked for security guarantees, not for a postponement or change of venue. The match is set to take place at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday (today).