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Lille got back into action with a solid 1-1 draw away to Le Mans, but they will need to perform much better when they face Manchester United in the Champions' League on Tuesday.
Indeed, a more incisive team than newly-promoted Le Mans could very realistically have made the northerners pay for a loss of focus towards the end of the match, in which the home side pressed forward without reward.
Not that Le Mans were totally focused throughout the encounter themselves, though. In fact, Coach Frédéric Hantz is sure to be furious with his players for conceding an equaliser within a minute of Frédéric Thomas's early penalty.
No sooner had the hosts finished celebrating than an unmarked Matt Moussilou was left to turn in a Geoffrey Dernis cross, and Claude Puel will be hoping for more merciless finishing from the pacy striker at Old Trafford.
Thomas fired against the bar on 69 minutes and Tony Sylva did excellently to keep out James Fanchone moments later, but Lille did just enough to hold on and consolidate themselves in eight place, one spot higher than Le Mans.
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