He rose to the occasion of the derby, with all that this implies. Solid, sharp, agressive, Christophe Hérelle is your Aiglon of the Match for Marseille – Nice (1-0). The centre back beat the equally effective Malang Sarr and Dante to the award.

In true Niçois spirit, he had no intention of shying away from a battle against the neighbours from along the coast. So with his two fellow defenders, he showed the path to follow, despite the defeat. At the Vélodrome, Christophe Hérelle refused nothing: neither the play nor the battle, two elements of equal importance in an encounter where OM had the bulk of possession (56%). From the very beginning of the game, you could feel the determination of the defender. This feeling didn’t fade as the minutes passed and his teammates clearly felt the effect too, given that the former Troyes defender was the Nice player with the most touches (71), most interceptions (8) and most successful passes (91%).

Avec 39% des suffrages, @ChrisHerelle est votre Aiglon @credit_agri_PCA de #OMOGCN
Malang Sarr (35%) et @dante_bonfim (26%) complètent le podium.
pic.twitter.com/RAZsQGYyuX

— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) 11 mars 2019

The other side of his performance lies in his commitment, particularly demonstrated during his incredible battle with Mario Balotelli. Having started 24 of the first 28 games this season, Hérelle picks up his first Aiglon of the Match award.

Malang Sarr showed equally strong character in Provence. Strong in the tackle, the 20 year old showed maturity alongside Dante. The duo were only caught out on one occasion during the match, for the Marseille goal.