Davide Ancelotti takes Lille to Arsenal on Tuesday night with more on the line than points. His side are second in Ligue 1, one point off the top and three points ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, and this is only his second Champions League game at the Emirates Stadium. For a coach still building his own name, that is a useful stage.
Lille's modern, direct shift
The most interesting part is not the surname, even if it still follows him around. Davide started coaching aged 23 after failing to make the grade as a player at AC Milan, and his first spell away from Carlo Ancelotti came at Botafogo, where he lasted five months. That is the backdrop for this trip to north London.
Supporters who watch Lille closely say the style looks different. Dimitri Favorinus, host of the Simplement Dogues podcast, said: "It’s very, very modern and a big difference to our previous managers’ style of play." He added: "Davide’s team is more pragmatic, more adaptable. When there is a direct solution, the team will take it." Lille's league numbers fit that reading, with 13 points from 6 games and a +5 goal difference. Arsenal are second in the Premier League too, so this is not a glamour tie in the loose sense, it is a meeting between two sides near the top of their domestic tables.
Ancelotti still has to live with comparisons to his father, but the football he is sending out at Lille has given him a clearer identity than the family name alone. Tuesday at the Emirates is another chance to show that.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
