´It´s a great night for everyone´ – Genesio revels as Lille shock Madrid

Bruno Genesio revelled in “a great night for everyone”, as “incredible” Lille stunned Champions League holders Real Madrid 1-0 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Jonathan David’s first-half penalty – after Eduardo Camavinga handled from Edon Zhegrova’s free-kick – ended Madrid’s 14-match unbeaten streak in this competition, while condemning them to a first reverse overall in 36 games.

Genesio also had Lucas Chevalier to thank after the Lille goalkeeper made a string of superb saves to keep Carlo Ancelotti’s side at bay, including a wonderful instinctive stop to thwart Antonio Rudiger right at the death.

Indeed, Madrid simply had no answer to their stubborn hosts, despite the introduction of a fit-again Kylian Mbappe during the second half.

And Genesio saluted his players for their efforts in delivering a memorable result.

“What this team did is incredible,” he said. “We try to put things in place, but you need the players to believe in the plan for this kind of upset to happen.

“You have to do everything perfectly, you need a keeper who makes the decisive saves, a striker who scores, and a bit of luck.

“We played a very good first half, we played together. It’s a great night for everyone.

“We saw that Real like to cut inside, so we put intensity in that sector – even if we had to abandon possession sometimes.

“Then, it was all about pressing when it mattered. Everything worked perfectly, it was an ideal scenario – even if we suffered a lot in the last 25 to 30 minutes, but Lucas made the saves we needed.”

Lille beat Real Madrid#UCL pic.twitter.com/5o6xX6tt9S

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 2, 2024