Payet debuted for Lille in a 5–4 Trophée des Champions loss to Marseille at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Morocco on 27 July 2011. His Ligue 1 debut for the club came in the 2011–12 season opener against Nancy on 6 August. On 15 October, Payet scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win at Auxerre. Three days later, Payet made his UEFA Champions League debut as a 62nd-minute substitute for Benoît Pedretti in Lille's 1–0 home loss to Italian club Internazionale.