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Crédit Agricole Aiglon of the Match
Who else, but Atal?
After picking up a hat-trick against Guingamp (3-0) on Sunday, Youcef Atal was unanimously voted the Crédit Agricole Aiglon of the Match by Le Gym’s supporters.
Starting on the left of the front three, Youcef Atal set the game on fire from the very get go. After he was perfectly played in by Tameze, the Algerian international buried a left footed volley to secure Nice’s first goal in the first 10 minutes of a match this season.
After numerous mazy runs through the opposition’s defence, Atal, who had moved across to the right, doubled his side’s lead (68’). But far from contenting himself with a brace, five minutes later, the number 20 scored the first hat-trick of his career, thanks to an inch perfect ball from Sacko. The Algerian then came off in the 77th minute, to a fully deserved standing ovation.
These three goals make Atal (6 goals), OGC Nice’s joint top scorer for the 2018-19 season, on a par with Allan-Saint-Maximin.
The stat:
Youcef Atal is the first Algerian player to score a hat-trick in the top flight since Chérif Oudjani on 12 October 1985 for Laval against Toulouse. He is equally the youngest player to score at least three goals in a Ligue 1 encounter for Nice in the last 45 seasons (22 years and 11 months).
Finally, Youcef Atal became the second Aiglon to score a hat-trick at the Allianz Riviera, after Hatem Ben Arfa did so against Stade Rennais on 10 April 2016 (3-0).
