Down to ten men for more than a half after Dante's red card, OGC Nice picked up a precious point on the road at Montpellier (M28, 0-0). Thanks to Benitez's decisive penalty stop, a brave and conquering spirit, and a touch of luck, Les Rouge et Noir kept their points tally ticking over in Ligue 1, with their 50th point of the season. A result that allows them to solidify their spot in second place ahead of the rest of Matchday 28.

BENITEZ STOPS SAVANIER'S PENALTY

Andy Delort's Aiglons needed just four minutes to get their first chance in the Montpellier box. The former MHSC man (who was subsequently flagged offside), let rip after being played in behind the defence by Hicham Boudaoui, but his effort smashed against Jonas Omlin's post (4’). After an early warning sign, Montpellier didn't take long to strike back. Just a minute later, Teji Savanier found Elye Wahi who won his battle with Jean-Clair Todibo but couldn't find the target (5’).

The lively U19s international didn't let up and proved a constant threat in and around the Nice box, and tried his luck from distance (9’). Inside Le Gym's penalty area, a slight coming together between Wahi and Dante saw Mr. Turpin show a red card to the Nice captain and a penalty for the home side (34’). An extremely harsh double punishment. As Dante left his teammates down to ten men, Walter Benitez perfectly read Savanier's effort and denied Les Héraultais from taking the lead (39’). Having already proved decisive on his line to deny Maxime Estève (24’), the final line of the Nice defence breathed a sigh of relief just before the break, when Florent Mollet's effort brushed past his left post (45’).

NICE DIG DEEP

The second half began with real rhythm and two quick chances. For the first, it was Le Gym's left side that impressed when Melvin Bard set Calvin Stengs on his way. The Dutchman crossed perfectly for Mario Lemina, but the midfielder headed off-target (47’). With Morgan Schneiderlin now on the match and Pablo Rosario dropping to centre back, MHSC found spaces, thanks once again to Savanier's right boot. The Montpellier captain found Valère Germain, whose deflected effort hit the Nice post (53’).

Mollet continued to strike at goal without troubling Benitez, before the Nice attack really got going. On the left, once again, Bard and Delort combined well and found Gouiri. The number 11 flicked the ball to Schneiderlin, but the midfielder was just pipped to the ball (67’). As the minutes went by, and as Le Gym got accustomed to being one man down, Les Aiglons started to eat up the space. Stengs delightfully played into Brahimi, who had just come onto the pitch, and then found another substitute in Kasper Dolberg. The Dane's powerful effort missed the target (77’). After having a chance to take all three points, Le Gym dug deep to hold on at the end of the match. Faced with cross after cross from the home side, Les Aiglons continued to give their all in order to defend their goal, with Khephren Thuram clearing the ball off of his line (85'). Two weeks after picking up a point at Strasbourg having gone down to ten men (0-0), Les Aiglons repeated the feat in the Hérault and made it five consecutive clean sheets across all competitions.

NEXT UP:

It's another away trip for Les Aiglons. To bring March to a close, they will head to Marseille on Sunday 20 March (20h45). OM, currently in third place in Ligue 1, will face Stade Brestois on Sunday (20:45) in the final chapter of Matchday 28.

PROVISIONAL LEAGUE TABLE: