text: Lille's following season is completely different. After the arrivals of veterans José Fonte and Loïc Rémy, Turkish right-back Zeki Çelik and forwards Jonathan Bamba, Jonathan Ikoné and Rafael Leão, the team proceeded to reel off a string of victories, losing only five games in the first part of the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season. On 14 April 2019, before a record attendance of 49,712 spectators, they defeated Paris Saint-Germain in a historic and storming 5–1 home win with goals from Nicolas Pépé, Jonathan Bamba, Gabriel and team captain José Fonte. At the end of the season, Lille secured the second place to qualify for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage; they returned to the competition after a seven-year absence. On 1 August 2019, club's season-top scorer Nicolas Pépé is sold to Premier League side Arsenal in a club-record fee of €80 million (£72 million). Lille announced the recruitment of Victor Osimhen and Tiago Djaló on the same day, after the signings of Timothy Weah, Reinildo Mandava and Benjamin André a few weeks earlier. The club then announced the arrivals of Yusuf Yazıcı and Renato Sanches to strengthen the midfield. In early March 2020, the Northmen were in 4th place with 49 points after 28 rounds. However, the Ligue 1 season ended abruptly as the LFP first suspended domestic leagues indefinitely following the outbreak of COVID-19 in France on 13 March, and then definitely cancelled French football competitions a month and a half later.