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Canada Striker David Helps Lille To French Title
Canada striker Jonathan David was on the scoresheet as Lille beat Angers 2-1 to lift the Ligue 1 title in France.
Lille went into the final matchday one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain who faced Brest at the same time.
Although PSG comfortably won their encounter 2-0 courtesy of an own-goal from Romain Faivre and a strike from the league’s 27-goal top scorer Kylian Mbappe, Lille knew that a win at Angers was all they needed to pick up their first title since 2011.
Christophe Galtier’s side started far better than in the previous week’s tepid 0-0 draw with Saint-Etienne and David gave them the lead after just 10 minutes at Stade Raymond Kopa after being played in by the impressive Renato Sanchez.
The 21-year-old from Ottawa played a key role in the second goal as he was brought down in the area by Angers goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni to win a penalty just before half-time. Veteran Turkey striker Burak Yilmaz converted the spot kick to send Lille in 2-0 up at the break.
Lille played out the second-half in relative ease until a late consolation goal for Angers scored by the head of Angelo Fulgini.
It was only a few seconds before the Lille substitutes and staff were flooding the pitch, celebrating an unlikely league triumph ahead of a moneyed PSG side who had won seven straight league titles.
After a slow start to the season following his move from Gent in Belgium, David contributed 13 league goals to finish as his side’s second top scorer behind Yilmaz.
David has scored 11 goals in 12 international outings for Canada and it is hoped that alongside the likes of Alphonso Davies he can lead an exciting generation of players who can take the national team to new heights.
/Stewart Sports news editor
