PSG's Ligue One upset explained: How Fonte-led Lille pulled off a Leicester fairytale in France?
Associated Press
THE GALTIER EFFECT: The 54-year-old Frenchman made the most of a talented but limited squad, blending youth and experience to good effect. (Photo | AP)Galtier focused on defense first, building a rock-solid back line that kept a league-high 21 clean sheets and conceded a league-low 23 goals and three defeats. (Photo | AP)JOSE ROCK FONTE: Leader, warrior, inspiration. Take your pick as to which best describes veteran center half Jose Fonte. The 37-year-old captain drew on all of his experience, to keep his teammates focused. (Photo | AFP)Behind him Mike Maignan emerged as the best goalkeeper in France along with PSG's Keylor Navas. Maignan's ability to read shots late, along with lightning reflexes, frustrated star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as Lille kept two clean sheets against PSG. (Photo | AFP)KEY SIGNINGS: Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Galtier signed 35-year-old Burak Yilmaz from Besiktas. Surely the Turkey striker's best days were behind him? Not so. He contributed 16 league goals in only 28 games, and would have surely reached 20 if not for a niggling mid-season injury, but came back just in time for Lille's title run-in. (Photo | AP)The other key signing was Dutch centre half Sven Botman. The 21-year-old was a relative bargain at 8 million ($9.8 million) from Ajax and, after forming a superb partnership with Fonte, is now being chased by Europe's biggest clubs. (Photo | AP)Galtier paired Yilmaz with attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici, his former teammate at Trabzonspor, and they combined well. Yazici also chipped in with a useful seven league goals that revealed his classy touch. (Photo | AFP)Another signing, Canada forward Jonathan David, who made a slow start but came good in the second half of the season. (Photo | AP)MIDFIELD PAIR: Lille's defence deservedly received a lot of credit, but holding midfielders Benjamin Andre and Boubakary Soumare provided the ideal protective screen. (Photo | AP). At 30, Andre is in his prime years and has proved one of Galtier's shrewdest signings two years ago, after more than 150 games for Rennes. Andre also blossomed in a leadership role as vice-captain to Fonte. (Photo | AFP)
