Bielsa suspended by struggling Lille

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November 22, 2017 10:20 PM

Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa was suspended by Lille on Wednesday after a dreadful start to the French season, the struggling Ligue 1 club announced.

Lille are second from bottom after just three wins in 13 matches under Bielsa, with the 62-year-old "suspended momentarily as coach" pending further announcement, according to a statement on the Lille website.

Bielsa was due to hold a press conference on Thursday ahead of Saturday's trip to Montpellier, but there was no confirmation from the club whether it would go ahead as planned.

According to French sports daily L'Equipe, Lille club officials met in London on Wednesday and reached a decision to part ways with Bielsa.

But reports in South America claimed Bielsa had left for Chile to be at the bedside of cancer-stricken former assistant Luis Maria Bonini, prompting his suspension.

The Argentine returned to France this summer for a second spell in Ligue 1, following a previous stint at Marseille between 2014 and 2015, but has failed to deliver results at Lille despite the club investing over 60 million euros ($70.9 million) in the transfer market.

Lille appeared to have halted their plight with back-to-back wins over Metz and Saint-Etienne, but Monday's alarming 3-0 defeat at newly-promoted Amiens plunged them back into the automatic relegation places.

"As for my job, this result increases my share of the responsibility because the difference in quality between the two sides was clearly in our favour," Bielsa said after the loss to Amiens.

"If the team with less talented players wins 3-0 against us, it is my responsibility."

Lille hired the enigmatic Argentine to front an ambitious project under new owner Gerard Lopez, but their latest loss sent the 2011 champions back 19th in the table with just 12 points from 13 matches.

He said this month he "would not resign from Lille for any reason", but his future looks in serious doubt, with the club also set to go to third-placed Lyon next weekend, ahead of a trip to leaders Paris Saint-Germain on December 9.

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