Lille prioritise Champions League post

Lille midfielder Florent Balmont says the reigning Ligue 1 champions are determined to secure France’s final Champions League spot.

Lille’s 4-0 win over Valenciennes on Sunday kept them in the last qualifying place for Europe’s premier club competition, three points clear of fourth-placed Toulouse.

“Now we enter a crucial phase in the title race,” Balmont said. “We really want to stay in third place.”

“There are a group of clubs who would like to do the same.”

“We’ve been there a long time and we would like to stay there.”

“But so much can happen, we have some big games ahead.”

Balmont has started 24 of Lille’s 28 league games this season and has warned his team-mates they cannot afford to slacken off against 10th-placed Evian on Saturday.

“At Evian, it’s going to be difficult,” the 32-year-old said. “And staying third means getting a result over there.”

Lille have only been beaten once in six league matches but have four clubs within six points behind them.

Rudi Garcia’s side trail leaders Paris Saint-Germain by nine points, but despite still clinging on in the title race, Balmont says qualifying for next year’s Champions League is a priority.

“We have to look behind us because we have several teams chasing us,” Balmont said.

“So, creating a gap between us and those teams will be our main goal, then we will see.”

“We play Toulouse in two weeks, but first, to begin a good series of results, we need to do well at Evian.”