Lille Coach Reveals Designated Penalty Taker After Osimhen's On-Field Debate With Ikone

Lille coach Christophe Galtier has confirmed that Victor Osimhen is the designated penalty taker of the club after the Nigeria international was involved in an on-field debate with Jonathan Ikone during the first half of the Ligue 1 tie against Montpellier on Friday night.

Five minutes before half-time, Ikone stepped up to convert a spot-kick won by Osimhen, which did not please captain Jose Fonte and manager Galtier as they wanted the rule to be applied.

Speaking to reporters post-match, Galtier explained : ''I saw what happened and I'm going to talk about it with the players.

''In the last match against Brest, Victor gave Jonathan (Bamba) the chance to shoot, it was a gift.

''This is something I am going to intervene on because there were far too many people around the ball, it can confuse the taker at some point.''

Brazilian winger Luiz Araújo would have liked to take the 89th penalty kick missed by Osimhen against Montpellier and Galtier has revealed that the Nigerian is number one in the hierarchy of spot-kick takers.

He added : ''So now is there going to be a fourth, a fifth, or even a sixth taker? Victor remains the number one penalty taker''.

Osimhen netted the winner from the spot in Lille's 1-0 victory against Dijon on November 30.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : losc.fr