It was a bad Sunday outing for Le Gym, as they were beaten by Clermont on Matchday 3 of L1 (1-0). After going behind in the sixth minute when Khaoui found the back of the net, Les Aiglons ended the encounter with just nine men, after red cards for Lemina and Todibo (who will be automatically suspended next Sunday against Marseille). 

Frustration. That's what can be taken away from the match between Clermont-Nice, which was won by the home side after Khaoui's early opener (1-0). The shape of the match could have been entirely different if Gouiri's effort in the third minute had found the back of the net instead of Diaw's post… But the harsh realities of football made this a bitter afternoon for Le Gym against a disciplined and talented Clermont side.

An early effort against the post 

Lucien Favre opted to make five changes to the side that started the Conference League match against Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Schmeichel, Daniliuc, Todibo, Dante (cap), Lotomba, Rosario, Lemina, Thuram, Stengs, Gouiri and Brahimi made up the Nice eleven, starting in a 4-3-3. Algeria international Billal Brahimi made his first L1 start of the season.

The start of the encounter set the tone with two ambitious sides in attack and it was Le Gym who created the first chance of the the match. The Clermont defence blocked Jordan Lotomba's effort and the ball fell to Amine Gouiri who saw his left-footed strike hit the post (3’). Les Auvergnats then reacted quickly. Saîf-Eddine Khaoui connected with Borges' cross with his left boot, after a misunderstanding at the back for Nice, and opened the scoring from close-range (1-0, 6’).

Galvanised by their opener, Clermont took advantage of the spaces left by the Nice defence, especially on the counter-attack. Ogier's header after a good ball in from Cham flew just over Kasper Schmeichel's goal (17’) and a right-footed effort from Cham from the edge of the box just missed the target by a couple of centimetres (19’).

Les Aiglons began to move the ball about and sought to find answers against the well-organised home side, who limited Le Gym's capacity to attack. Well played into the box down the left by Brahimi, Lotomba struck with his right but Diaw was equal to the effort (25’). A few minutes later, Dante's shot from distance couldn't trouble the Clermont stopper (32’). OGC Nice headed into the dressing room a goal behind at the break.

Two red cards at the worst possible moment

After the break, the match offered no real chances for either side, except for an attempt by Allevinah, which was easily dealt with by Schmeichel (55'), and a blocked shot by Gouiri following a cross from Daniliuc (56'). In an attempt to get back into the game, Lucien Favre made five changes in the space of fifteen minutes. Delort, Bard, Atal, Ramsey and Claude-Maurice brought fresh legs as they replaced Brahimi, Stengs, Lotomba, Rosario and Thuram. In doing so, Coach Favre switched his team to a 3-5-2 formation for the first time this season. Les Niçois played high and tried to break through Clermont. 

From the corner of the box, Andy Delort controlled the ball with his thigh and then fired a right-footed missile at goal, but Diaw impressively turned the ball away for a corner (74'). Diaw then made another save to deny Ramsey, as the Welshman had two attempts to find the back of the net following Atal's inch-perfect cross (77'). But just as they were putting their opponents under real pressure, Le Gym lost their footing. Lemina was given a straight red after a tackle on Andric, and Todibo was given a second yellow for punching the ball away after a foul. The match was brought to a close at 1-0.

A huge week to get back on track

Le Gym now have two big games to get back on track. Having been beaten in Israel in the first leg of the Conference League play-off (1-0), they will have to reverse the tide at the Allianz Riviera in the second leg against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Thursday at 8pm). Three days later, they will play in the Mediterranean Derby, at home against OM on Matchday 4 of L1 (Sunday at 3pm).

Tristan Lapierre & IconSport