Crvena Zvezda claimed their fifth 1-0 victory of this season’s UEFA Europa League campaign with a hard-fought first-leg success over LOSC Lille at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium.
The Serbian side nearly made a dream start, as Jay Enem dragged an early effort narrowly wide inside the opening five minutes.
Lille gradually settle into the contest, with Romain Perraud forcing Matheus into action from a tight angle before Hakon Haraldsson fired over from distance.
Despite Lille enjoying spells of possession, the visitors always looked dangerous on the counter. After Berke Ozer denied Vladimir Lucic’s ambitious strike, Red Star struck just before the break.
Tomas Handel’s corner caused chaos in the box, eventually falling kindly for Franklin Tebo Uchenna, who forced the ball home in stoppage time, only their third first-half goal in Europe this term.
Lille failed to find a spark after the interval and were fortunate not to fall further behind.
Substitute Marko Arnautovic nearly doubled the advantage moments after his introduction, but Ozer reacted sharply to block from close range.
The hosts dominated territory late on, yet clear-cut chances remained scarce. Matheus was largely untroubled until the 80th minute, when he comfortably dealt with another long-range effort from Perraud.
The defeat brought Lille’s impressive streak of scoring in 19 consecutive European matches to an end and extended their poor knockout record in the competition, now winless in six matches (D1, L5).
Red Star, meanwhile, head into the return leg on home soil full of confidence, having secured their first-ever European victory in France at the 10th attempt, a result that puts them firmly in control of the tie.
