Unlikely hero Yilmaz leaves Lille on the brink of incredible Ligue 1 triumph

By Sports Desk May 21, 2021

Paris Saint-Germain have won seven of the past eight Ligue 1 titles. This weekend, they might make it eight out of nine.

But this time, the odds are against them.

In the Qatari Sports Investment era, PSG have turned Ligue 1 into their own personal playground, away from the heartache that Champions League tilts tend the bring.

In 2016-17, they missed out to Monaco, whose lavishly gifted young squad came together at the perfect time.

Kylian Mbappe's supernova emergence inconvenienced PSG so much they decided they had to sign him once the campaign ended, but the France sensation had quite the supporting cast.

Bernardo Silva, Thomas Lemar, Fabinho, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Benjamin Mendy all went on to rake in hundreds of millions of euros collectively as Europe's elite embarked upon a feeding frenzy.

Monaco's triumph spoke of the improbability of PSG being unseated again any time soon, given the extent to which numerous stars would have to align at just the right moment and for long enough before being ripped apart.

However, something feels different as leaders Lille head into Sunday's final matchday needing to match PSG's result at Brest when they travel to face Angers.

Once again, a vibrant youthful core are seeking to take down the kings of France, but if Christophe Galtier's fearless insurgents pull off their heist, it is unlikely their star attacker will have Parisian eyelashes fluttered in his direction.

That is because he is a 35-year-old veteran Turkey striker who, before this season, had never played anywhere outside his home country in Europe.

A free transfer to replace the €70m man

If there was a parallel to Burak Yilmaz in that shimmering Monaco team, it was Radamel Falcao, whose goalscoring nous and experience proved invaluable to Leonardo Jardim's side.

But the Colombia international was enjoying a resurgence, having established himself as one of the most lethal strikers in the world at Atletico Madrid before falling on hard times, initially at Monaco and then during fruitless loan stints at Manchester United and Chelsea.

Yilmaz's CV provides a who's who of Turkish football, counting Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Galatasaray among his former employers. While Monaco were getting to work in 2016-17, he enjoyed a hop aboard the fleeting Chinese Super League gravy train at Beijing Guoan.

He arrived at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on a free transfer last August with 224 league goals to his name over the course of a career impressive in its consistency. Nevertheless, it was impossible for the man brought in following Victor Osimhen's €70million departure to Napoli not to feel like an underwhelming replacement.

"During my career, I played in big clubs with a lot of pressure," Yilmaz said during his presentation to the media at Lille.

"I realised that this pressure was an advantage, something positive for me. It continues here in another way, with other objectives. I want to write a new page with LOSC."

Even calling upon all that experience, all that title pedigree from his homeland, Yilmaz surely could not have imagined the fairy tale to which he now only needs to apply the final pieces of punctuation and a definitive full-stop on Sunday.

Bearing teeth for Les Dogues

He went without a goal in Lille's opening four games, but the solid foundation that has become the bedrock of their title change ensured Galtier's men went unbeaten and picked up eight points.

In their fifth match, a late Yilmaz penalty sealed a 2-0 win over Nantes and, next time out, he crowned a fluid team move by outmuscling his marker and sliding home in a supreme piece of centre-forward play. Strasbourg were beaten 3-0 and Lille's attacking fulcrum was off and running, not to look back.

He has 15 goals and five assists in Ligue 1 this season, more goal involvements than any of his team-mates. Jonathan David has two assists alongside his 12 goals and Jonathan Bamba has six goals having laid on nine others.

 

Yilmaz has equalled the most goals scored in France's top-flight in a single season by a Turkish player, level with Melvut Erdinc's haul for PSG in 2009-10.

In terms of goals alone, his is the best debut season for Lille in Ligue 1 since Moussa Sow fired 25 in 2010-11 – the club's previous title success.

Golden autumns and heavy goals

It feels like a good time to be an experienced hitman in Europe right now and Yilmaz is among the most prolific.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 29 despite Juventus' Serie A woes, has more goals across the top five leagues among players aged 35 and over.

Yilmaz is level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on 15, with Sampdoria's evergreen Fabio Quagliarella up next on 12.

Like Ibrahimovic, Yilmaz has been forced to spend some time on the sidelines since the turn of the year and it is tempting to wonder whether Lille might already have the title in the bag were it not for a calf injury that ruled their talisman out for two months.

Yilmaz was on a run of three in three games before being forced to watch on for nine Ligue 1 rounds. His team-mates ploughed on, winning seven and drawing two of those games and he returned as a man on a mission.

Lille were 2-0 down at Lyon when he thundered home a magnificent 25-yard free-kick. Yilmaz crossed for David to equalise with an hour played and he then charged through to dink in an 85th-minute winner.

 

That was a truly bravura performance, with the calmness under pressure he boldly highlighted eight months earlier proving unshakable. An astonishing 30-yarder as part of a brace in a 3-0 win at Lens was his 15th and best of the campaign, taking Lille to the brink of glory.

Lille's 12 strikes from outside the box are the most in Ligue 1 in 2020-21 and goals of such quality mean Yilmaz is performing well in excess of his expected goals (xG) figure of 9.2. A positive differential of 5.8 is the sixth-best in the elite divisions behind Robert Lewandowski, Marcos Llorente, Son Heung-min, Luis Muriel and Lionel Messi.

Don't look back in Angers

Yilmaz was unable to whip up another dose of magic last weekend, with a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Saint-Etienne meaning Lille's advantage heading into Sunday's decisive fixtures is down to a point.

Their 80 points is already the club's record tally and is built as much on a watertight defence as it is on Yilmaz's attacking fireworks.

Only PSG in 2015-16 (19) have conceded fewer after 37 games than Les Dogues' 22. During the second half of the season, they have kept things improbably tight – letting in just six goals, eight fewer than any other team in the top five leagues over this time. Atletico Madrid, also on the verge of an unforgettable triumph this weekend, are up next with a typically miserly 14.

Lille's Mike Maignan closed out a 21st clean sheet of the campaign against Saint-Etienne, a continental best that puts him three clear of Atleti's Jan Oblak and Manchester City's Premier League Golden Glove winner Ederson.

 

Alongside his clean sheet percentage of 56.8, another leading mark in the elite competitions, he has saved 79.1 per cent of shots faced, which can only be bettered by Oblak (80.2) and Keylor Navas (79.3) of PSG.

Obviously, this makes Lille very hard to beat. They have only lost three Ligue 1 games, although one of those was against Angers in January.

That might set nerves jangling when it comes to the crunch this weekend, but they need only look towards Yilmaz and his air of a man who will not be denied.

Related items

  • Mauricio Pochettino surprised Ben Chilwell started England games after injury Mauricio Pochettino surprised Ben Chilwell started England games after injury

    Mauricio Pochettino admitted he was surprised Ben Chilwell started two games for England during the international break, having only recently returned from a knee injury.

    The defender last started for Chelsea on March 2 against Brentford and since then has played just a few minutes for the club, as a late substitute in the FA Cup against Leicester.

    Yet he played the entirety of England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday, three days after completing 67 minutes against Brazil.

    The Argentinian is no closer to seeing the end of his team’s injury crisis with nine players currently ruled out of Saturday’s meeting with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

    More squad members will be assessed after returning from international duty, including Chilwell, who took a knock to his knee against Belgium.

    “He didn’t play after Brentford, then he played only a few minutes against Leicester,” said Pochettino. “(Then) he started two games (for England).

    “It’s a surprise for us. It’s bad luck because he got a dead leg in the last moment against Belgium. Now we need to assess if he can be available.”

    Enzo Fernandez was set to return to the club’s Cobham training base on Thursday afternoon after playing twice for Argentina in the United States during the break, and is another player whose fitness will be checked on.

    Three names unlikely to feature on Saturday however are Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka, the latter after returning injured from duty with England Under-21s.

    The club confirmed this week that Romeo Lavia would be out for the rest of the season.

    The summer signing from Southampton has played just 32 minutes for the first team since arriving in west London for £58million and has suffered a series of setbacks.

    “It’s a difficult situation for him,” said Pochettino. “He’s sad. He only played 30 minutes, for a new player at the club.

    “When we signed him, he arrived with problems. He couldn’t train with us for the first months. Then when he was ready he suffered a problem in his feet.

    “He recovered, he played 30 minutes then got injured in December. Then he didn’t have the possibility to train. It’s really sad news.”

    However, top scorer Cole Palmer is likely to be available to face Burnley, having not featured in either of England’s games during the last week.

    The 21-year-old was injured for the Brazil game and was an unused substitute against Belgium.

    “I talked with him,” said Pochettino. “He’s a little bit disappointed because he couldn’t play with the national team.

    “The first game he had a small problem. He thought maybe he’d play the second game.

    “Now he’s OK, is training well. The plan is he will be available for Saturday.”

  • Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali charged over alleged breaches of FA betting rules Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali charged over alleged breaches of FA betting rules

    Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules, the FA has announced.

    Tonali is alleged to have breached FA rule E8 50 times by betting on matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.

    The 23-year-old, who is currently serving a 10-month ban for betting offences while playing in Italy, has until April 5 to respond.

    Newcastle said in a statement: “Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules.

    “Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club’s full support.

    “Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and Newcastle United are unable to offer further comment at this time.”

    In October last year Tonali was suspended for 10 months after reaching a plea bargain following an investigation into illegal betting conducted by the Italian Prosecutor’s Officer and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

    He was also fined 20,000 euros and ordered to partake in an eight-month course of therapy to address his issues after his agent, Giuseppe Riso, said the former AC Milan midfielder was living with a gambling addiction.

  • UEFA to consider increasing Euro 2024 squad sizes at meeting next month UEFA to consider increasing Euro 2024 squad sizes at meeting next month

    UEFA will consider a possible increase in the size of squads for Euro 2024 at a meeting next month.

    A number of coaches have called on European football’s governing body to allow countries to take 26 players to Germany instead of 23, a move England boss Gareth Southgate may be glad to accept as he deals with a number of injuries.

    “We have taken note of comments expressed by some national team coaches on the squad size for Euro 2024,” UEFA said in a statement released on Friday.

    “A workshop with the participating teams will be held on 8 April and on that occasion UEFA will listen to the views of the coaches.

    “Any idea in this respect will then be considered and assessed.”

    This summer’s finals is the first time since the 2018 World Cup that national team managers are having to pick a 23-man squad for a major tournament after it was expanded to 26 following the coronavirus pandemic.

    Speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Belgium at Wembley, Southgate said: “It seems to be (settled at 23).

    “There is one more UEFA meeting where there’s been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that.”

    That meeting will be part of a wider finalists’ workshop on April 8 and 9 in Dusseldorf, where Southgate will not push for 26 but will accept it if the decision goes that way.

    Southgate, who has previously said it is a “bigger skill to pick a 23”, was asked if he was in favour of a move to an expanded selection and said with a smile: “Well, given where we are now!

    “We’ve got to make the best decisions with what we know and some of those currently are going to be medical decisions.

    “And we’ve been able to get those right in the previous tournaments. We’ve been able to give people time, but with 23 that’s definitely more difficult.”

    Previous expanded selections allowed Southgate to take a calculated gamble on the fitness of Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson at Euro 2020 as the pair recovered from injury.

    The same went for Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips at the 2022 World Cup as they worked their way back to fitness, with injured duo Luke Shaw and Reece James potential beneficiaries if it goes to 26 this time.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.