Lille vs. Sochaux Provides a Matchup of Two Future European Stars

It was a study in contrast, watching Lille starlet Eden Hazard twist and turn with abandon on the flanks, while Sochaux's Marvin Martin, the newest French attacking midfielder who's enjoyed favorable comparisons to the great Zidane, turned heads with his more muted, but incredibly effective, technique and and savvy spreading of play.

Two different players, but two career paths both set firmly along the same upward plane. Watch them while you can in Ligue 1, because both of these guys will soon be plying their trade on the biggest European stages.

Hazard, the 20-year-old Belgian who had been sensational in Lille's 3-1 victory over Saint-Etienne one week before, has been using that infective blend of dizzying pace to give the opposing defense fits for several years now.

More muted in the midweek Champions League tie against CSKA Moscow, in which he was met by at least two defenders at every beck and call, the diminutive Belgian was raring to get back to his foraging ways Saturday.

Martin, who skyrocketed onto the international scene this past summer thanks to a spell of superb displays with the French national side—in his first appearance for Les Bleus in a June friendly against Ukraine, he scored two goals and provided an assist in 17 minutes of play. Zinedine Zidane, the iconic Frenchman, also scored two goals in his own senior debut.

Suffice to say, journalists were frantically tapping away comparisons between the two long before the final whistle of that match.

Aside from a cheeky chipped attempt on goal from the edge of the 18-yard box that was easily cleared off the line, Martin saw very little of the ball during the first stages of Saturday's encounter.

That tends to happen when you play Lille, but it was made more interesting considering that Martin has drawn favorable comparisons to Barcelona midfield maestro Xavi. L'Equipe, the iconic French sporting newspaper, saw fit to draw that link a season ago, when Martin led Ligue 1 in assists.

The little Sochaux man also works wonders through minimalistic displays: one and two touches on the ball, and an emphasis on spreading play are just some of the things he shares in common with the Catalan. Of course he is far from the same caliber at this point in his career, but there is a definite vestigial imprint.

Lille's No. 10, Hazard, saw a shot fizzle past Sochaux keeper Teddy Richert's far post, and combined well with loan signing Joe Cole in the early going. After setting Ligue 1 aflame over the past few seasons with the now-departed winger Gervinho, Hazard had to enjoy playing with another top international with superb technical prowess.

Both sides lost key pieces from a season ago (Lille were champions of Ligue 1, Sochaux finished an impressive fifth), but Martin certainly had far less talent to work with on a wet, slick Lille night that turned from constant drizzle to torrential downpour in the second half.

The hard rain prevented Lille from playing their vaunted passing game, but it certainly made for an interesting spectacle, as both sides were forced to adapt their preferred styles of play.

After Benoit Pedretti's headed opener, Cédric Bakambu leveled for the visitors before Hazard made it 2-1 on a well-taken penalty in the 78th minute.

Just as in midweek, however, when a 2-0 lead against the Russians disintegrated into a 2-2 draw, Lille were once again undone by spotty backline play, and allowed the visitors a draw after a brilliant counterattack saw Martin pick out Slovan Privat, who finished coolly.

Certainly not the result Lille were looking for, but an entertaining match all the same. And the scoreline gave further indication of just how closely enjoined these two stars' career paths have become.