Canadians in Europe: David stars as LOSC stays in Champions League chase
Published
Jonathan David powered Lille to a big win in the Champions League race in Ligue 1. Plus, Promise David stayed red-hot in Belgium and Alistair Johnston and Celtic took one step closer to a domestic treble. Here's a look at Canadians in Europe this past weeked.
Jonathan David, Lille
If these really are Jonathan David's final matches in a Lille shirt, he's doing what he can to leave Les Dogues in the best position possible. It was the Jonathan David Show on Sunday as LOSC hosted Auxerre as they looked to maintain their Champions League push. Les Dogues got things underway early with David playing a key role in the proceedings. Coming out from the back, Bafodé Diakité launched a long ball into the area, hoping that somebody would get a hold of it. It was David who got there ahead of Jubal and managed to knock it into the path of the oncoming Thomas Meunier. The Belgium fullback made no mistake and slipped it past Donovan Leon to make it 1-0 in the ninth minute. The assist was David's fourth in Ligue 1 this season. Les Dogues would double their lead just before the break. Matias Fernandez-Pardo was given way too much space to roam down the left before finding a somehow unmarked David in the area to one-time a left-footed volley to make it 2-0 in the 43rd. It was a fine finish for David, but Auxerre made things way too easy for the hosts. Things wouldn't get interesting again until second-half stoppage when the visitors got on the board. In the second minute of stoppage, Lassine Sinayoko was sprung in behind the LOSC backline. Alexsandro Ribeiro tracked back to try to pressure him, but his attempted tackle put the ball into his own net and past Lucas Chevalier to make it 2-1. Could Auxerre still get something from this match? David said no. As Auxerre tried to pin Lille back as they pressed for the equalizer, Les Dogues broke the other way. David chased down a clearance and got a step on his marker. Leon came out to cut the angle and did stop David's initial attempt, but David was first to the rebound and poked home into an empty net to wrap up the three points at 3-1. The brace gave David 16 league goals on the season. With Nice's 2-1 victory over Angers, Lille needed all three points to maintain their two-point advantage in fourth spot in the table for the final Champions League place with only four matches remaining in the season.
--
Promise David, Union SG
Union Saint-Gilloise has not won a Belgian league title in 90 years. Runners-up last year and in 2022, as well as Belgian Cup victors in 2024, the team is currently experiencing its first purple patch in generations. There's a belief around the club that a title this season is a real possibility and that mindset is being led by Brampton, Ont.'s latest footballing export in Promise David. From Canada's footballing hotbed, David's imperious form right now has added true menace to its championship aspirations. Union faced its biggest test, thus far, in the Championship Round on Sunday at leaders Genk. The team passed it with flying colours with David once again the central force behind the victory. With only minutes remaining in the first half, the visitors were awarded a penalty with David stepping up to take. Last Tuesday, Newcastle's Nick Pope provided the blueprint for goalkeepers in stopping the kind of penalty popularized by Jorginho. When Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze skipped up to the ball and made eye contact with Pope, he fell into his trap. Pope leaned to his right, but only to shift his weight. Seeing this as Pope going to his right, Eze shot left. Because of the weight shift, Pope was able to push himself back the other way to make the save. As unstoppable as that penalty style has been, there is an antidote. Unfortunately for Genk, Mike Penders didn't know that. David made his run up, froze Penders with his eye contact and calmly slotted home to make it 1-0 in the 42nd. The incoming Chelsea 'keeper had no chance. David would complete his brace in the early minutes of the second half. Slipping behind the Genk backline after taking a fine pass from Ousseynou Niang, David came in 1v1 on Penders and slipped the ball through his wickets to make it 2-0 in the 50th. The goals took David to 11 league markers on the season. Belgian Pro League scoring leader Tolu Arokodare pulled one back for the hosts in second-half stoppage, but they couldn't come any closer. Despite defeating the leaders, Union remained in third. They pulled level on points with Genk, but Genk's loss allowed Club Brugge to springboard into first with a 5-0 drubbing of Gent. Union will meet Club Brugge, home and away, in their next two league fixtures.
--
Alistair Johnston, Celtic
During his time at Parkhead, all Alistair Johnston has done is win trophies. Heading into his third season at Celtic, the Vancouver native already had won two Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup. This season has been more of the same with the Hoops now sitting on the precipice of a domestic treble. Johnston and Celtic earned their first hardware of the campaign back in December with a 3-3 (5-4 on penalties) triumph over archrivals Rangers. The league title has also been practically wrapped up. Celtic needs just a single point from its remaining matches (or dropped points by second-place Rangers) to claim its 55th league title, equaling Rangers' record total, its fourth in a row and its 13th in 14 seasons. With one trophy down and another almost on ice, Celtic took one step closer to another domestic treble on Sunday with a 5-0 thrashing over St. Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semis. Johnston played 76 minutes in the victory and had one goal involvement, setting up the fifth and final Celtic goal in style. Completing a give-and-go on the edge of the box with Nicolas Kuhn, Johnston lofted a picture-perfect cross to the par post for Jota to poke home in the 67th. Having last turned the trick in 2023, the Bhoys already have a world-record eight domestic trebles and a ninth could be on the way. The Scottish Cup Final is set for May 24th against Aberdeen. The Hoops will have the league title wrapped up well before then and what could lie ahead is a very contentious meeting with Rangers on May 4. At that point, Celtic could be champions. What is customary when a team has already won the title with games to spare is a guard of honour for the opposition. But all bets are off when it comes to Celtic and Rangers, perhaps the most bitter rivalry in all of world football. In fact, Johnston doesn't think one is likely. “Would I expect it? I wouldn’t say I’d expect it," Johnston told The Scottish Sun this week. “The situation is what it is. We’re not too bothered if someone gives us a guard of honour or not. We just want to be lifting a trophy on the final day of the league season — that’s our biggest focus. Whatever happens in between is up to the other teams. That’s another thing I’ve learned since I’ve been here, don’t fret about things that are out of your control. If you do, you’re going to lose a lot of sleep, and that can take you down some pretty deep and dark rabbit holes. For me, it’s just about controlling what we can control — and that’s something that’s very out of our control." What is in Celtic's control is Saturday's date with Dundee United. If Johnston and Celtic simply don't lose that match, the title is theirs.