Lille's 6-1 rout of Feyenoord secures an unlikely place in Champions League last 16

LILLE, France (AP) — When Lille lost its opening Champions League match in September, only a few bold gamblers would have bet on the Ligue 1 side to qualify for the last 16 of European club soccer's elite tournament.

But the northern France side defied all the odds and concluded the league phase campaign of the competition with a 6-1 thrashing of Feyenoord on Wednesday.

“We’ve done the job,” Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier said. “We’ve got some absentees but we’ve got that extra bit of spirit. We were in a group of death and now we’re seventh. We’ve worked hard, we’ve been rewarded and we can dream even more.”

It was the first time Lille scored more than three goals in the Champions League.

Feyenoord center-back Gernot Trauner set a record that his team will not be celebrating. According to Opta statistics, Trauner became the first player to score two own goals in a single Champions League game.

The win saw Lille finish seventh in the standings. With five wins from eight matches, Lille was the standout French club — Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Brest will have to go through playoffs.

Lille pulled away with four second-half goals after Osame Sahraoui opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

“We couldn’t have wished for anything better,” Lille coach Bruno Genesio said. “The main objective was to win. We finished this group phase in the best possible way, finishing seventh, and that’s a great source of pride for my players, my staff and all the hard work we’ve put in.”

Despite the big loss, Feyenoord advanced to the playoffs stage.

“It’s a tough one, a tough result,” Feyenoord coach Brian Priske said. "We’re happy we’ve qualified. But today, we really wanted to try and get into the top eight. When you don’t do the basics, and you don’t put the effort in, you won’t get the rewards. I know we have the quality to pick up the points, but today we weren’t good enough.”

Earlier, French police said 86 fans of the Dutch team had been refused entry to France and that 30 had been arrested at the border. France’s interior ministry said a travel ban was introduced because of a “real and serious risk of confrontation” between fans of the two teams.

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Feyenoord's Gernot Trauner, left, and Lille's Mitchel Bakker battle for the ball during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Remy Cabella celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Remy Cabella celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Jonathan David,left, celebrates with a teammate after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Gabriel Gudmundsson right, tried to score as Feyenoord's Jeyland Mitchell tries to stop him during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's head coach Bruno Genesio, congrats Lille's Remy Cabella during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Jonathan David, right, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Remy Cabella , second right, celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's head coach Bruno Genesio, congratulates Lille's Jonathan David after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's players celebrate their win after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's players celebrate their win after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's players celebrate their win after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Remy Cabella, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's Jonathan David shoots to score his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's players and fans celebrate their win after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lille's players and head coach Bruno Genesio celebrate after their fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Feyenoord at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, northern France, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar began a second round of voting Sunday in its first general election since the military takeover five years ago.

Voting expanded to additional townships including some areas affected by the civil war between the military government and its armed opponents.

Critics say the polls organized by the military government are neither free nor fair and are an effort by the military to legitimize its rule after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working with the U.N. human rights office, urged the international community Thursday to reject what he called a “sham election,” saying the first round exposed coercion, violence and political exclusion.

“You cannot have a free, fair or credible election when thousands of political prisoners are behind bars, credible opposition parties have been dissolved, journalists are muzzled, and fundamental freedoms are crushed,” Andrews said.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the conflict, more than 22,000 people are detained for political offenses, and more than 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since 2021.

The army’s takeover triggered widespread peaceful protests that soon erupted into armed resistance, and the country slipped into a civil war.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls. The authorities have charged more than 330 people under new electoral law for leafleting or online activity over the past few months.

Opposition organizations and ethnic armed groups had previously vowed to disrupt the electoral process.

On Sunday, attacks targeting polling stations and government buildings were reported in at least four of the 100 townships holding polls, with two administrative officials killed, independent online media, including Myanmar Now, reported.

Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. in 100 townships across the country, including parts of Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Mon, Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states. Many of those areas have recently seen clashes or remain under heightened security, underscoring the risks surrounding the vote.

The election is being held in three phases due to armed conflicts. The first round took place Dec. 28 in 102 of the country’s total 330 townships. A final round is scheduled for Jan. 25, though 65 townships will not take part because of fighting.

Myanmar has a two-house national legislature, totaling 664 seats. The party with a combined parliamentary majority can select the new president, who can name a Cabinet and form a new government. The military automatically receives 25% of seats in each house under the constitution.

Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the military government's spokesperson, told journalists on Sunday that the two houses of parliament will be convened in March, and the new government will take up its duties in April.

On Sunday, people in Yangon and Mandalay, the two largest cities, cast their ballots in high schools, government buildings and religious buildings.

At more than 10 polling stations visited by Associated Press journalists, voter numbers ranged from about 150 at the busiest site to just a few at others, appearing lower than during the 2020 election when long lines were common.

The military government said there were more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% fewer than in 2020. The government called the turnout a success, claiming ballots were cast by more than 6 million people, about 52% of the more than 11 million eligible voters in the election's first phase.

Myo Aung, a chief minister of the Mandalay region, said more people turned out Sunday than in the first phase.

Maung Maung Naing, who voted in Mandalay’s Mahar Aung Myay township, said he wanted a government that will benefit the people.

“I only like a government that can make everything better for livelihoods and social welfare,” he said.

Sandar Min, an independent candidate from Yangon’s Latha township, said she decided to contest the election despite criticism because she wants to work with the government for the good of the country. She hopes the vote will bring change that reduces suffering.

“We want the country to be nonviolent. We do not accept violence as part of the change of the country,” Sandar Min said after casting a vote. “We care deeply about the people of this country.”

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six parties are competing nationwide.

The first phase left the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, in a dominant position, winning nearly 90% of the contested seats in the first phase in the lower house. It also won a majority of seats in regional legislatures.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party aren’t participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023, after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

An official of the Union Election Commission counts ballots at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

An official of the Union Election Commission shows a slip as they count ballots at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts ballot at a polling station during the second phase of general election Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts ballot at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A voter shows his finger, marked with ink to indicate he voted, at a polling station during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Sandar Min, an individual candidate for an election and former parliament member from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, shows off her finger marked with ink indicating she voted at a polling station during the second phase of general election Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Voters wait for a polling station to open during the second phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Buddhist monks walk past a polling station opened at a monastery one day before the second phase of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

An official of the Union Election Commission checks a sample slip from an electronic voting machine as they prepare to set up a polling station opened at a monastery one day before the second phase of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)