From passenger to protagonist: Giroud's brace saves Lille

Lille had spent too many games this season struggling to put away sides from the bottom half of Ligue 1. When Paris struck first on Sunday night, it looked like another long night. Doucet unleashed a thunderbolt, Trapp spilled it, and Geubbels reacted quickest to sweep the rebound home.

But Lille flooded forward in waves, missing chance after chance… until Olivier Giroud changed everything.

Frustration had been building around the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, yet in the 39th minute the veteran striker finally found the moment. A clever cut-back reached him in stride, and with a cool left-footed finish into the far corner, Giroud dragged Lille level.

The pattern repeated after the break: Lille pushing, Paris bending… and then breaking. A reckless defensive error gifted Igamane a needless foul in the box - Giroud converted the penalty for the comeback and his brace.

Paris were hanging on by a thread and finally collapsed when Mandy struck to make it 3-1. Crasso briefly revived the visitors with a neat assist and tidy finish, but Lille slammed the door shut with a second penalty to seal the win.

And at the heart of it all was Giroud - transformed. After weeks looking isolated and ineffective in this system, he suddenly became the axis of every attack. Igamane's smart movement opened lanes, Giroud found pockets, and he peppered Trapp all night. In truth, he might feel unlucky to walk away with "only" two goals. A statement performance from Lille, and a revival performance from Giroud.

LIGUE 1 - ROUND 13

Friday

Nice - Olympique Marseille 1-5 (0-2)

/Ali Cho 63 - Aubameyang 11, Greenwood 33, 53, Weah 58, Paixao 74/

Saturday

Lens - Strassbourg 1-0 (0-0)

/Ganiou 69/

Rennes - Monaco 4-1 (1-0)

/Ait Boudlal 20, Camara 48, Embolo 73, Blas 83 pen - Biereth 90+5/

PSG - Le Havre 3-0 (1-0)

/Lee 29, Neves 65, Barcola 87/

Sunday

Auxerre - Olympique Lyon 0-0

Brest - Metz 3-2 (1-1)

/Mboup 2, Doumbia 48, Del Castillo 90+10 pen - Tsitaishvili 6, Coulibaly 79 og/

Nantes - Lorient 1-1 (0-1)

/Awaziem 90+1 - Awaziem 45+1 og/

Toulouse - Angers 0-1 (0-1)

/Belkhdim 16/

Lille - Paris 4-2 (1-1)

/Giroud 40, 77 pen, Mandi 80, Broholm 90+6 - Geubbels 11, Doucet 84/