The Rouge et Noir lost a thrilling 2-3 derby to AS Monaco at the Allianz Riviera on Sunday. Reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour following Dante's harsh dismissal, the Aiglons fought on right to the end but had to concede their first home defeat of the season.

Le Gym fought. Le Gym came back. Le Gym believed, but Le Gym ended up losing. At the end of a derby that took the form of an all-out battle, Francesco Farioli's players were forced to give up the fight, but not without having shaken an AS Monaco side that had numerical superiority from the 54th minute and Dante's dismissal. Mohamed-Ali Cho's shot went narrowly wide (90'+1), Marcin Bulka's header from a corner (90'+5), Evann Guessand's powerful effort (90'+6)... the Aiglons tried everything in injury time. But to no avail.

Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Lotomba, Bard, Boudaoui and Guessand returning to the starting line-up, the Red and Blacks were surprised early on. Unchallenged from 20 metres out, Monaco midfielder Denis Zakaria unleashed a powerful strike to give the visitors the lead at the end of the first quarter of an hour (0-1, 16'). Saved by Bulka against Minamino (24'), Le Gym started to get into the game before the half-hour mark, finding the key to troubling their opponents by pressing hard in midfield, but failing to beat Philipp Köhn, as Guessand (22') and Sanson (32') both had a go.

LABORDE HOLDS HIS NERVE

It was ultimately thanks to a brilliant move started by their Comman'Dante that the Rouge et Noir managed to claw their way back into the game. The captain played an exceptional ball into Tom Louchet. Undaunted by his first start in Ligue 1, the 20-year-old from Nice controlled the ball superbly from outside the box, before being pushed aside in the area by Thilo Kehrer. Gaëtan Laborde then made no mistake from the spot to equalise (1-1, 37'). Le Gym's number 24 could even have had a double, but he failed to beat Köhn from close range after a scramble in the box (45'+3).

OGC Nice dominated the end of the first half but failed to make it count, and they were punished early in the second. Racing into the box, Zakaria made no mistake with a powerful header into Bulka's net (1-2, 50'). Les Aiglons were dealt a second blow three minutes later. After Dante made what appeared to be a fair tackle, with the Brazilian defender touching the ball before colliding with Minamino's shin, Mr Wattelier showed the red card.

LES AIGLONS GIVE THEIR ALL

Despite the harsh decision, the Red and Blacks were pushed on by a loud Allianz Riviera crowd. Guessand bravely rose highest to meet Sanson's corner and fire the ball into the back of the net (2-2, 74'). But once again, JC Todibo and Co, driven by the desire to take the lead, were punished by the cold precision of their rivals. With Aleksandr Golovin in the right place in the area, he was able to slot it past Bulka from close range after the latter had pushed away Ismaïl Jakobs' powerful shot (2-3, 77').

Bolstered by the introduction of Cho, Rosier, Thuram, Perraud and Rosario, Les Aiglons pushed forward, showing so much desire and courage to come back that we completely forgot they were a man down. But after ten crazy minutes of added time, they were forced to lose for the first time this season in their own stadium. Not without giving their all and making their supporters proud. Still in second place in Ligue 1 after Matchday 21, Le Gym now turn their attention to a trip to Lyon, set for Friday 16 February at 9pm.

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Hugo Rondet