With 72% of the votes, Evann Guessand is your Aiglon of the Match from Nice’s 3-2 win over Rennes on Friday. The award caps off a spectacular start to 2025 for Le Gym’s no. 29, who was one of the key architects behind his side’s victory over the Breton outfit.

Evann Guessand wished the Nice fans a happy new year, and the Nice fans returned the favour on Friday by roaring with delight not only at his 12th-minute opener and at his assist for Gaëtan Laborde in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time but also at his strength, at his sprints, at his grit and at his work ethic. Having recharged his batteries during the winter break, Guessand came back full of energy against Rennes, much to Le Gym’s benefit, and with a rating of 8/10 in both L’Équipe and Nice-Matin, the Ivory Coast international was once again the main man on a fantastic night for his side.

BONUS statS

• On Friday, Evann Guessand scored his seventh goal in 16 Ligue 1 games this season, which is as many as he had managed in his first 57 top-flight appearances for Nice (one in 20 in 2020–21 and six in 34 last season). He has also found the back of the net once in the UEFA Europa League during the current campaign.

• Not only has Guessand notched up the most goals and assists (seven and four respectively) of any Nice player in Ligue 1 this season, but Friday night also saw him bag at least one goal and one assist in the same game for the second time in 2024–25, having already done so against Saint-Étienne. The no. 29 had only managed to score as well as assist on one previous occasion, as a Nantes player against Toulouse in August 2022.

the coach’s thoughts on Evann

Here’s what Franck Haise had to say to the media about the striker in his post-match press conference.

Evann Guessand was in great form tonight...
In spells, yes, but he can always do more. Plenty of players, including Evann, had a pretty good game. I’ll always ask a lot of the players, especially the ones with a lot of potential. He needs to be able to make his mark in even more games, although I am happy with his performance. When you want to reach the highest level, you constantly need to work, to invest yourself… He has done very well, but I know about his potential. In that sense, I’ll probably always be slightly unhappy with him!

He has a unique profile as a striker, with his power, his pace, his height… He’s a very complete player, as we saw with Gaëtan Laborde’s goal. What do you think?
Yes, but there are still things that he can improve upon in terms of the quality of his first touch, his tracking back at times and his reading of defensive situations. I’m here to get the best out of the players. Of course, I’m happy with how Evann has been doing so far this season; I don’t think that he has ever been at this level for the first six months of a season before. There are reasons behind that, and he has almost grasped certain things that are important when it comes to raising your game, but I’m here to help him keep raising his game and not just to tell him that everything he’s doing is perfect.

 

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