Lille kicked off life under Davide Ancelotti with a valuable 2-0 win away at Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi sat the game out. The young midfielder is set to join Manchester City in the coming hours for a little over 100 million euros.
Olivier Giroud broke down Lille's performance after the final whistle, then threw his support behind a former teammate who had just said his goodbyes to the Lille faithful one last time before heading to England.
Speaking to "Foot Mercato", Giroud said: "We were determined to give the manager a good start, and for the fans too. They turned up in large numbers. As for Ayyoub, we don't know what will happen."
He continued: "Personally, I'm not aware (laughs), but if it happens, we'll celebrate (the win) for him too... We will lose a wonderful young player, an outstanding player, but above all, a wonderful person." The French star concluded: "His words in the dressing room were very moving. We will miss him, and we wish him all the best."