After dominating three quarters of the game and then showing real courage in the closing stages of the game, the Gym secured the three points in Week 7 of Ligue 1 (2-1). The machine is moving once more…

Playing against a Nantes side which was full of doubt, a feeling of uncertainty filled the air: how would OGC Nice react, after being rather bipolar in the last two weeks. A squad that is capable of excellence, like against Lyon and Rennes, but also capable of struggling, like they did against Montpellier. Luckily for the Niçois, the team opted for the best option, bringing home the points and dissipating the clouds that had begun to form on the horizon. The result went on to prove some excellent decisions from Coach Vieira, given that 3 of the 4 changes that he had made from the Montpellier game (Jallet, Coly, Makengo, Myziane) were directly involved in the two goals of the evening.

Starting in a 5-3-2 at kick-off, the men from the Côte took 25 minutes in order to get into the game.  25 minutes during which not a huge amount would happen, but where the caution of the Nice block and the speed of Hérelle allowed them to find a sort of calmness. Once this test had been passed, the Aiglons began to dominate the encounter.

Driven, you have to say, by an excellent Allan Saint-Maximin. He started through the middle, with streets ahead of him, and the forward was at the heart of all of the Gym’s dangerous moves.

And it would pay off at the end of the first half, reaching their peak with the opener from Christophe Jallet on the 30 minute mark. Perfectly played in deep by Lees-Melou, ASM beat Miazga before superbly cutting the ball back. Jallet was there to take advantage for his side with a crossed first-time shot, which went in off the post (1-0, 31’).

Intoxicated by this smart goal, the Red and Blacks looked to double their lead before the break, without finding it, but managing to shake the Nantais. Saint-Max' enjoyed himself in the middle of the box, with plenty of quick touches, before finding a withdrawn PLM, who didn’t get enough behind his shot (32’). Equally active up-front, Myziane worked hard but wasn’t rewarded for his efforts, as Tatarusanu was able to stop his strike (37’) and then he missed the target after an excellent move that was started by Saint-Maximin and flicked on by Makengo (40’). Finally Saint-Maximin, once again, stole the ball from Mbodji in midfield, set off on a long run, but lacked the juice to finish the chance (44’).

Character and quality

In short, the Niçois were controlling the clash, but went in at half-time knowing full-well that their opponents would need to react. Aware of this threat, but they still came out with the same intentions. Played in by Makengo, ASM tried his luck quickly, but saw his effort blocked by a yellow leg

Then Dante connected with a sumptuous header from a corner, but Tatarusanu was able to deny (54'), and we began to cross our fingers that we wouldn’t live to regret the missed opportunities.

Those fears were doubled by Nantes’ only real move. The Nice defence tried to play a high line in order to catch the opposition offside, but were caught out by a run from Sala. The Argentine was through on goal, and managed to beat Benitez, against the run of play (1-1, 57').

After the equaliser, the two sides had chances at both ends. Nice continued to push, FCN almost took the lead, but the ball slipped under an unmarked Sala’s foot just six metres out (62').

And finally, the efforts became fruitful. Quite quickly in fact. Racine Coly played a superb ball into  Makengo, who, at the near post, struck across goal with one touch, leaving the Romanian giant with no chance at all (1-2, 69').

After this goal, the Gym sat back and allowed the opposition two chances: a strike from Rongier which wasn’t too smartly dealt with by Benitez, but was finally cleared (86’); and another from Limbombe, which the Argentine was equal to (89').

By demonstrating excellent spirit, the Niçois kept their lead, and got themselves back on track to kick on and to put themselves in the best possible place ahead of the visit of Paris.

C.D.

---