Bielsa suspended by struggling Lille

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

Ligue 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.

The Argentine returned to France in June 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.