Lille failed to cut the gap on leaders Paris Saint-Germain as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Strasbourg.
Les Dogues lost to PSG in their previous game and would have wanted to trim the lead to the champions. However, the home side were up against a quality keeper.
Matz Sels was in excellent form for the away side as he kept Lille out on a number of chances. The first fell to Jonathan Bamba in the 12th minute but the Belgian keeper punched the shot away.
Former West Ham defender Jose Fonte had a great chance in the first half. However, his header didn’t have the power to beat the Belgian keeper.
Lille were camped in the opposition half for most of the game and had 22 attempts on goal, with eight of them on target, unfortunately, they could not get the better of Sels.
Strasbourg did defeat the home side 2-0 in a Coupe de la Ligue a week ago, but they were unable to do much damage to the home side.
Former Lille striker Lebo Mothiba had a chance to score for Strasbourg but Mike Maignan did well to thwart his former teammate’s effort. The away side came into the game with a six-match unbeaten run, and was predicted to do the damage against Lille with Football Betting odds heavily stacked against them. However, Gérard Lopez’ side did their best to stifle Lille.
The home team pounded at the Strasbourg goal in the second half too, and only the brilliance of Sels kept the away side in the game.
This could have been Lille’s seventh straight home win, however, the Belgian keeper had other plans.
Les Dogues will rue their finishing, as well as Sels’ brilliant form, as they now sit 13 points behind runaway leaders PSG.
Strasbourg picked up a crucial point as they moved up to eighth in the league and are only six behind fourth-placed Lyon.
The international break gives some time for both teams to reflect on the point earned. Lille still have Champions League hopes in their hands and face another tough test of their credentials in a couple of weeks.
Les Dogues take on Nice away and are just six points behind the seventh-placed side. Strasbourg face Nimes and will look to stretch their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions.